The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published on December 20, 2023, its notice of intent (NOI) to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) of reasonably foreseeable impacts of floating offshore...more
The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which President Biden signed into law today, and the proposed $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376) each set aside historic investments in clean energy. The...more
11/16/2021
/ Clean Energy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
FERC ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NOAA ,
Offshore Wind ,
Renewable Energy ,
Wind Power
The U.S. Senate passed the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 by a nearly unanimous vote in its first significant legislative step towards fulfilling the water infrastructure goals of the Biden...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a U.S. Forest Service plan for commercial logging of some 4,700 acres of fire-damaged Mendocino National Forest could not reasonably be interpreted as falling within a NEPA...more
10/1/2020
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Environmental Policies ,
Forest Service ,
Forestry ,
Logging ,
Maintenance ,
NEPA ,
Repairs ,
Roads ,
State and Local Government
Taking the next step in its efforts to streamline the environmental review process for projects under federal jurisdiction, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published proposed regulations on January 10...more
1/14/2020
/ CEQ ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
NEPA ,
Notice of Intent ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service issued a set of three new final rules on August 12, 2019, that substantially revise the regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act. The new...more
The Council on Environmental Quality published draft guidance June 26, 2019, on how to assess greenhouse gas emissions under the National Environmental Policy Act, the law that requires environmental impact assessment for...more
A Summary of Published Appellate Opinions Under the California Environmental Quality Act -
The California Supreme Court issued its only CEQA opinion of 2018 at the end of the year. In Sierra Club v. County of Fresno, the...more
1/14/2019
/ Air Quality Standards ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Building Permits ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CEQA ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Excessive Noise ,
Exemptions ,
Final Judgment ,
General Plan ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Historic Preservation ,
Housing Developers ,
Mitigated Negative Declaration ,
Mixed-Use Zoning ,
Oil & Gas ,
Railroads ,
Railways ,
Real Estate Market ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Res Judicata ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sierra Club v County of Fresno ,
Standard of Review ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Substantial Evidence Standard ,
Tenants ,
Traffic Impact Assessments ,
Trucking Industry ,
Urban Planning & Development
The Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a district court order requiring that the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Reclamation conduct spill operations...more
11/26/2018
/ Appeals ,
Bureau of Reclamation ,
Climate Change ,
Dams ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Injunctions ,
Irreparable Harm ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Salmon ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
On April 9, 2018, the heads of a dozen federal agencies executed a memorandum of understanding on implementation of Executive Order 13807, which directed federal agencies to expedite environmental review and permitting for...more
On February 12, 2018, the White House released a set of proposals to streamline the federal environmental review process for infrastructure projects. The 55-page “Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure in America”...more