In today’s Federal Register, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) published a proposed rule under the federal Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) to reclassify the northern long-eared bat (“NLEB”) from “threatened” status...more
Although President Biden’s “Build Back Better” legislation faces daunting challenges in the Senate, the Administration continues to use the executive branch to push its clean energy agenda forward. Earlier this week, we...more
On January 12, 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) announced its first offshore-lease auction in over three years. The auction will take place on February 23, and will award leases for over 488,000 acres in...more
In 2021, the demand for offshore wind in the United States grew significantly. With the recent announcements from Massachusetts and Maryland, over 8,400 MW of offshore wind power was procured last year. This sets a new record...more
A new season of the regulatory drama “WOTUS” dropped last week. On August 30, a federal court in Arizona granted EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) (collectively, the “Agencies”) request to remand their 2020...more
On July 15, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) unanimously issued a wide-ranging advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANOPR”), raising numerous proposals to consider revamping how...more
On June 9, 2021, the U.S. EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (collectively, the “Agencies”) jointly announced their intention to revisit and revise the definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS). The definition of WOTUS...more
On May 24, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released a proposed rule to list two distinct population segments (DPS) of the lesser prairie chicken (LEPC) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If the listing...more
On May 20, 2021, the D.C. Circuit affirmed a U.S. District Court ruling dismissing an appeal brought by the Fisheries Survival Fund, Garden State Seafood Association and seaside municipalities (“Appellants”) challenging the...more
On May 7, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS” or “Service”) published a proposed rule that would restore the traditional interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) as prohibiting incidental take...more
The American Jobs Plan and Made in America Tax Plan (the “Plan”), announced by the Biden Administration on March 31, 2021, place heavy emphasis on renewable energy, electrical grid improvements, and climate change-related...more
On March 29, the Biden Administration issued a proposal to significantly boost U.S. investment in offshore wind energy. In addition to several funding mechanisms, the Administration proposed to designate a significant...more
On March 29, the Biden Administration unveiled the broad strokes of a comprehensive, multi-agency plan to “accelerate and deploy offshore wind energy and jobs” in furtherance of President Biden’s twin priorities of fighting...more
On April 3, 2020, New York State announced the passage of the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act (“Act”). The Act established a new Office of Renewable Energy Siting (“ORES”) within the NY...more
On January 7, the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) published a final rule codifying its previously announced interpretation that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) applies only to intentional acts directed at migratory...more
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) was first adopted in 1918, and for most of its existence the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) interpreted it to prohibit any taking or killing of migratory birds, intentional or not. ...more
In a busy few days for the pipeline industry, the Supreme Court provided sorely needed relief by issuing a stay of the Montana District Court’s order vacating Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12 for the oil and gas industry. While...more
In a hotly anticipated ruling on May 11, the federal district court that just a few weeks ago stunned and stalled a wide range of industries by vacating the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) Nationwide Permit (“NWP”)...more
On May 1, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order that prohibits the acquisition or installation in the United States of certain electrical equipment originating in countries designated as “foreign adversaries.” The...more
On April 21, less than a week after a federal district court in Montana vacated Nationwide Permit (“NWP”) 12, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) published the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (“NWPR”). The...more
On April 15, in a case challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) Nationwide Permit (“NWP”) 12, a federal court in the District of Montana determined that the Corps’ 2017 reissuance of NWP 12 was arbitrary and...more
On January 28, the D.C. District Court issued a significant decision in litigation brought by a group of environmental organizations challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (“FWS”) 2015 listing of the northern...more
On December 11, 2018, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule to revise the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in a manner that would...more
On December 22, 2017 the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (“DOI”) Office of the Solicitor issued Memorandum M-370501 (the “M-Opinion”) interpreting the take prohibition of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act2 (“MBTA”) to apply...more
On April 17, 2017, a federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois granted a temporary restraining order halting construction of a six-mile stretch of highway in suburban Chicago in response to allegations by project...more