On December 10, 2021, the Biden Administration released the Fall 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda), which is a semi-annual compilation of information concerning regulations and policy...more
12/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Department of the Interior ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Nationwide Permits (NWPs) ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On November 18, 2021, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced the availability of a pre-publication version of a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) to amend the definition of Waters...more
12/2/2021
/ Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Navigable Waters Protection Rule ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
This is the first in a series of eAlerts on proposed revisions to regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) issued by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking...more
On October 7, 2021, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) will publish the first of two proposed rulemakings to revise National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations that had previously been updated in 2020 under...more
On September 20, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California set aside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) negative 12-month finding (Finding) on a petition by WildEarth Guardians...more
On September 3, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced the agencies’ will abandon the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) set forth in the April 21,...more
9/7/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Navigable Waters ,
Navigable Waters Protection Rule ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
On August 18, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published in the Federal Register a final rule designating more than 1,315 acres across 14 units as critical habitat (“Final Rule”) for two neotenic...more
8/27/2021
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Final Rules ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published in the Federal Register a proposal to list six Central Texas mussel species under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), to issue an ESA section 4(d) rule for one...more
On August 11, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted partial vacatur of an appeal brought by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) challenging a district court decision to vacate and enjoin use of...more
8/16/2021
/ Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Keystone XL Pipeline ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Nationwide Permits (NWPs) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Section 7 ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Vacatur ,
Waters of the United States
On June 29, 2021, fourteen members of Congress delivered a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to use its authority to list the monarch butterfly (Danaus...more
On June 29, 2021, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) will publish an interim final rule (IFR) extending the deadline by which federal agencies are required to adopt updated National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)...more
Linear infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and transportation, have faced a number of regulatory challenges over the last year. Some of these challenges stem from changes in...more
6/15/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Construction Industry ,
Criminal Liability ,
Delays ,
Electricity ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Guidance Documents ,
Infrastructure ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Nationwide Permits (NWPs) ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rescission ,
Revocation ,
Risk Management ,
Transmission Lines ,
Transportation Industry ,
Waters of the United States ,
Zoning Laws
On June 7, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) agreed with the Department of Justice and declined to hear a case brought by the Kansas Natural Resource Coalition (Coalition) challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife...more
6/10/2021
/ Article III ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Conservation ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Department of the Interior ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Judicial Review ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On June 4, 2021, the Biden Administration announced its intent to rescind or revise several implementing regulations for the Endangered Species Act (ESA) finalized under the prior administration. ...more
6/8/2021
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Delisting ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Weyerhaeuser Company v United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced the next chapter in the lesser prairie chicken’s (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) (LEPC) tumultuous listing history. On May 26, 2021 the USFWS announced that it will...more
Linear infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and transportation, have faced a number of regulatory challenges over the last year. Some of these challenges stem from changes in...more
5/26/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Construction Industry ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Criminal Liability ,
Delays ,
Electricity ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Guidance Documents ,
Infrastructure ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Nationwide Permits (NWPs) ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rescission ,
Revocation ,
Risk Management ,
Transmission Lines ,
Transportation Industry ,
Waters of the United States ,
Webinars ,
Zoning Laws
On March 10, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a biological opinion (BiOp) and incidental take statement (ITS) issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in connection with a...more
3/19/2021
/ Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Policies ,
FERC ,
Infrastructure ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Sierra Club
On January 20, 2021, President Biden announced his administration will review regulatory actions taken between January 17, 2020 and January 20, 2021 in accordance with an Executive Order titled “Protecting Public Health and...more
1/22/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Navigable Waters ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On December 3, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other agencies (collectively, “Agencies”) announced an update to the standard Bank...more
12/28/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Project ,
Environmental Policies ,
Mitigation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Section 404 ,
State Department of Fish and Wildlife ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
This is the fourth in a series of eAlerts on revisions to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2020 (Final Regulations) by the Council on Environmental Quality...more
8/19/2020
/ CEQ ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Final Rules ,
Incorporation by Reference ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Statutory Authority
On August 11, 2020, a federal district court in New York ruled that the unintentional or incidental “take” of migratory birds is a crime under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”), vacating a Department of the Interior...more
8/12/2020
/ Department of the Interior ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Strict Liability ,
Trump Administration ,
Vacated
This is the second in a series of eAlerts on revisions to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2020, by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The CEQ’s...more
8/10/2020
/ Administrative Remedies ,
CEQ ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Highway Administration ,
Federal Transit Administration ,
NEPA ,
New Regulations ,
Notice of Intent ,
State and Local Government
On July 16, 2020, the Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) released in final form its eagerly anticipated revisions the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations (NEPA ]Rules)....more
Linear infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and transportation, have faced a number of regulatory challenges in recent months. Some of these challenges stem from changes in...more
7/14/2020
/ Construction Industry ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Infrastructure ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
National Historic Preservation Act ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Waters of the United States ,
Webinars
On June 17, 2020, a federal court in Colorado vacated an incidental take permit (ITP) issued to the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) authorizing take of the endangered American burying beetle (ABB) that could occur in...more