On 16 July, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) final rule, which largely shadows the proposed NEPA rule that was published in January of this year. As discussed...more
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a cornerstone of environmental law that Congress enacted in 1970. NEPA celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this month. NEPA has been the focus of extensive litigation and...more
1/15/2020
/ CEQ ,
Comment Period ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Tribal Governments ,
Trump Administration
There has been much coverage and misinformation in the public discourse regarding Interior’s recently-announced revisions of regulations to implement the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Doug Wheeler and Hilary Tompkins bring...more
9/9/2019
/ Critical Habitat ,
Department of the Interior ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Yesterday, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services) proposed in the Federal Register the first major regulatory reforms to the Endangered Species Act (ESA or Act) under the Trump...more
7/26/2018
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), responsible for the oversight of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), is revising its NEPA regulations as part of the current administration’s efforts to streamline the...more
The FCC has proposed to exclude so-called “Twilight Towers” from routine historic preservation review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (“NHPA”) and its regulations. ...more
1/23/2018
/ Broadband ,
Cell Towers ,
Exclusions ,
FCC ,
Historical Landmarks ,
Infrastructure ,
Native American Issues ,
NHPA ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Telecommunications ,
Tribal Lands ,
Wireless Industry
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Office of Energy Projects, recently issued its Guidelines for Reporting on Cultural Resources Investigations for Natural Gas Projects (Guidelines)....more
8/29/2017
/ Consultation ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
FERC ,
Historic Preservation ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Native American Issues ,
Natural Gas ,
Natural Gas Act ,
NHPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Tribal Lands
As expected, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke on Thursday delivered his draft report to the President regarding the fate of certain national monuments, as directed by Executive Order No. 13792. Specifically, the President...more