Lead agencies cannot ignore the Coastal Act’s ESHA requirements in CEQA documents and defer analysis for later Coastal Commission review.
Key Points:
..CEQA requires an EIR to identify potential environmentally...more
On December 14, 2016, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) finalized its proposed revisions to the Eagle Rule (Final Rule) and released its Record of Decision (ROD). The Final Rule allows companies and others to obtain...more
On July 5, 2016, the public comment period closed for the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) proposed revisions to the rules authorizing eagle take permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act) and...more
Phase I of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) has now been approved, paving the way for streamlined permitting and environmental review of qualified renewable energy projects on Bureau of Land Management...more
California energy agencies and key stakeholders have finished the first step of a statewide planning process to evaluate transmission needs in the state and the region. This process, called the Renewable Energy Transmission...more
5/18/2016
/ Bureau of Land Management ,
CAISO ,
California Energy Commission ,
Comment Period ,
CPUC ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Transmission Grid ,
Transmission Lines
On May 2, 2016, the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) announced its second attempt to revise its rules authorizing eagle take permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act). The rule would extend the...more
The end of the California State Legislature’s regular session for the year culminated in a frenzy of action, with Assembly members scrambling to pass dozens of bills before midnight on September 12, 2015. The California...more
9/21/2015
/ CAISO ,
Cap-and-Trade ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
CPUC ,
Energy Efficiency ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
ISOs ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Renewable Energy ,
Renewable Portfolio Standards ,
Transmission Grid
On September 4, 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a ruling in United States v. CITGO that a “taking” subject to prosecution under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) does not include the...more
On August 11, 2015, the US District Court for the Northern District of California remanded a US Fish & Wildlife Service’s (FWS) 2013 final rule that had extended the maximum duration of eagle take programmatic permits under...more
8/20/2015
/ American Bird Conservancy ,
Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Final Rules ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Remand ,
Renewable Energy ,
Takings Clause ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Phase I of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (“DRECP”) is underway on the 9.8 million acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”). As discussed in our previous post, the four lead...more
On May 26, 2015, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced its intent to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) to evaluate the potential impacts of permits authorizing the incidental take of...more
Concerns from local agencies, industry, and environmental groups over the long-awaited Draft Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”)/Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan...more
On Sept. 23, 2014, the California Energy Commission, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental...more
On September 23, 2014, the California Energy Commission (“CEC”), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (“CDFW”), US Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), and US Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) released the Draft...more
An informal Attorney General advice letter and recent legislation attempt to clarify the Coastal Commission’s powers in carrying out its enforcement authority.
The extent of the California Coastal Commission’s legal...more
8/25/2014