Following its recent opinion in Village of Morrisville v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has once again waded into the issue of when a state waives its certification authority under...more
7/17/2025
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
FERC ,
Hydropower ,
Judicial Review ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Scope of Authority ,
Water Quality
On July 3, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a final rule revising its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to remove references to the recently rescinded...more
7/10/2025
/ CEQ ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Reform ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Final Rules ,
Hydropower ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on May 16, 2025, clarified the conditions under which a state waives its Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certification (WQC) authority. In Village of Morrisville...more
5/22/2025
/ Appeals ,
Certification Requirements ,
Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
FERC ,
Judicial Authority ,
Navigable Waters ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Section 401 ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Deadlines ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Waivers ,
Water Quality
On November 21, 2024, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a final rule establishing a categorical one-year “reasonable period of time” for certifying authorities to act on requests for water quality...more
1/3/2025
/ Certification Requirements ,
Clean Water Act ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FERC ,
Final Rules ,
New Guidance ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Section 401 ,
Water Quality
At its May 23, 2024 open meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) proposing to establish a one-year “reasonable period of time” for certifying authorities to...more
6/11/2024
/ Clean Water Act ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FERC ,
Final Rules ,
Hydropower ,
Infrastructure ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Section 401 ,
Water ,
Water Quality
At its May 23 open meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), proposing to establish a one-year “reasonable period of time” for certifying authorities to act on...more
6/5/2024
/ Clean Water Act ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FERC ,
Final Rules ,
Hydropower ,
Infrastructure ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Section 401 ,
Water ,
Water Quality
The Endangered Species Act regulations have become a political hot potato, with regulatory revisions occurring each time there is a change in administration. On March 28, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the...more
4/5/2024
/ Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Final Rules ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Section 7 ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On January 9, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued an Interim Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions and Climate Change (Interim Guidance) “to assist Federal agencies in their...more
On November 22, 2022, the White House released a new version of the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, an online interactive map that uses datasets on various “burdens” environmental justice communities may face,...more
On April 20, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a Final Rule, revising certain sections of its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Final Rule represents “Phase 1” of the...more
On October 7, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) to revise its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies to...more
Following the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) July 2020 overhaul of regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), environmental plaintiffs filed a series of lawsuits challenging the rule in...more
Our lead article this month concerns the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) long-awaited final rule on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The rule introduces sweeping changes to the NEPA regulations, aimed at...more