The Trump Administration has issued a Presidential Memorandum, "Updating Permitting Technology for the 21st Century," aimed at modernizing and streamlining the federal environmental review and permitting processes through...more
5/16/2025
/ Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Executive Orders ,
Expedited Actions Process ,
Information Technology ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Land-Use Permits ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Technology ,
Trump Administration
In a significant move to accelerate domestic energy development, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has announced emergency permitting procedures that will dramatically compress environmental review timelines. Under...more
4/25/2025
/ Department of the Interior ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Expedited Actions Process ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has issued an interim final rule and corresponding memorandum to heads of federal departments and agencies indicating its intent to rescind prior National Environmental Policy Act...more
2/26/2025
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Audubon Society ,
Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Executive Orders ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Judicial Review ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Reform ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration
President Donald Trump signed the executive order (EO) "Unleashing American Energy" on Jan. 20, 2025. In addition to laying out revised energy-related policy priorities, the EO required a temporary pause on the disbursement...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Jan. 31, 2025, declined a request to review its decision that challenged the authority of the Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ), leaving open questions...more
2/5/2025
/ Administrative Authority ,
Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
En Banc Review ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Judicial Authority ,
Judicial Review ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rulemaking on Jan. 18, 2023, revising the definition of "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) within the Corps1 and...more
1/20/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Final Rules ,
Navigable Waters ,
Rapanos v US ,
Regulatory History ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sackett ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Nexus ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced on Aug. 4, 2021, the start of a long anticipated rulemaking process to revise the regulatory definition of "waters of the U.S."...more
8/9/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have issued their long-awaited proposed rule to define "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) pursuant to the Clean Water Act, fulfilling an early...more
12/21/2018
/ Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Navigable Waters ,
Proposed Rules ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waste Treatment Facilities ,
Water ,
Waters of the United States
• U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously – on narrow procedural grounds – that the courts of appeals do not have original jurisdiction to hear challenges to the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Obama Administration's 2015 rule...more
2/5/2018
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Jurisdictional Determination (JD) ,
Land Developers ,
Property Owners ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Time Extensions ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
• A U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) legal memo has found that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) applies only to purposeful "take" and does not apply to otherwise lawful activities.
• The memo specifically...more
In Alaska Oil & Gas Ass'n v. Pritzker, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently upheld a rule listing two species of seals as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) based on climate change...more
11/30/2016
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Alaska ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Center for Biological Diversity ,
Climate Change ,
Conservation ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Trump Administration