On May 29, 2025, a unanimous Supreme Court (voting 8-0, with Justice Gorsuch recused) held that federal agencies need not consider the environmental effects of “upstream” and “downstream” projects that are separate in time or…
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/ Environmental Law, Transportation
On May 16, in Texas v. EPA, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected EPA’s nonattainment designation for two counties in Texas. What I find most interesting about the case is the reaction to it. Inside EPA (subscription…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
The new administration has repeatedly expressed its staunch support for nuclear energy. President Trump’s first-day executive order “Unleashing American Energy” specifically encouraged the development of nuclear energy…
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/ Administrative Law, Energy & Utilities, Science, Computers, & Technology, Taxation, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
Earlier this week, my colleagues Adam Kahn and Kevin Chen posted about the proposed rule issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service that would rescind the definition of “harm” under the…
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/ Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a proposed rule to rescind the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
On April 8, the White House issued an Executive Order aimed at “Protecting American Energy from State Overreach.” While the direct effects from this Executive Order are hard to assess, the Trump Administration clearly intends to…
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/ Constitutional Law, Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
We previously reported on New York State’s enactment of the Climate Change Superfund Act (the “Climate Superfund Act” or the “Act”), groundbreaking legislation that seeks to recover $75 billion from fossil fuel producers for…
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/ Constitutional Law, Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
I’ve always taken the position that, no matter how much I disagree with the President, the Senate should confirm his executive branch nominees (nominations to the Judicial Branch are different, since judges don’t work for the…
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/ Administrative Law, Elections & Politics, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
A Monday night memorandum issued by the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) ordered federal agencies to “temporarily pause” all federal funding and other agency activities that “may be implicated by” the slew of executive…
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/ Administrative Law, Commercial Law & Contracts, Constitutional Law, Government Contracting
On January 14, 2025, President Biden signed an Executive Order to advance the United States’ leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. This comprehensive directive underscores the critical role of AI in national…
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/ Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Science, Computers, & Technology
Last week, we posted about New York State’s enactment of the Climate Change Superfund Act. We promised to continue to monitor developments concerning climate superfund legislation and to update readers as necessary. It’s been…
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/ Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Toxic Torts, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
With the incoming Trump administration poised for an attack on federal environmental regulations, states are quickly emerging with actions on climate change. On December 26, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law…
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/ Constitutional Law, Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law
Earlier this week, in what almost certainly has to be the most fractured appellate decision in the history of the United States courts, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, affirmed via per curiam decision the 2021…
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/ Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
Last week, EPA released two final rules under TSCA. The first rule bans all uses of trichloroethylene (TCE). The ban is subject to several temporary exemptions for certain uses under § 6(g) of TSCA. The second rule bans consumer…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Toxic Torts
Earlier this week, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the National Environmental Policy Act does not authorize the Council on Environmental Quality to issue binding regulations governing how federal…
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/ Administrative Law, Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
