Proof in Trial: Appellate Edition: Stand Up for California et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al.
On Friday, August 22, 2025, the Trump administration announced the cancellation of the Revolution Wind project located off the south coast of Rhode Island, east of Block Island. At the time of the stop work order, the...more
Under Secretary Doug Burgum, the Department of the Interior (DOI) has quickly moved to implement Sections 4 and 5 of President Trump’s 7 July Executive Order 14315 titled “Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable,...more
In its first nine months, the Trump administration has taken multiple actions impacting offshore wind development and generating substantial uncertainty as to the industry’s future in the United States. Those actions have...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) issued two memos in July 2025 in furtherance of President Donald Trump’s policies to eliminate subsidies for wind and solar projects on federal lands. These directives will impact...more
In a major move to bolster US digital infrastructure, the White House issued an executive order on July 23, 2025 aimed at accelerating the federal permitting process for data centers and related infrastructure. The order is...more
The Trump administration came into office in 2025 promising to speed federal environmental permitting by, among other things, streamlining compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In the whirlwind of the...more
On August 4, 2025, U.S. Department of Interior Deputy Chief of Staff-Policy Gregory Wischer issued a memorandum directing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take multiple actions related to the Service’s eagle permitting...more
Environmental Vanguard is a quarterly newsletter sharing key insights from McGuireWoods’ leading environmental attorneys and consultants at the forefront of regulatory, litigation and policy developments. This issue covers...more
The frenetic pace of anti-renewable actions from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has continued into this week with the issuance of a new memorandum from Greg Wischer, deputy chief of staff for policy, directing the...more
1 See National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations, 90 Fed. Reg. 29498, 29498 (July 3, 2025) (codified 43 C.F.R. Part 46); Procedures for Implementing NEPA; Processing of Department of the Army Permits, 90 Fed....more
During the week of July 28, the Trump administration unleashed a new burst of actions aimed squarely at blocking wind and solar energy with the announcement of two new secretarial orders (SO) and three new policies by the...more
On July 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a memorandum establishing significantly heightened review procedures for federal decisions, actions, consultations, and other undertakings related to wind and...more
On July 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) circulated an internal memorandum, requiring 68 different DOI actions related to wind and solar project development to be submitted to the DOI Office of the...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on July 17 that decisions related to solar and wind energy projects on federal lands will be reviewed by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s office to end what it calls preferential...more
On July 15, 2025, the Department of Interior (DOI) issued a memorandum titled, “Departmental Review Procedures for Decisions, Actions, Consultations, and other Undertakings Related to Wind and Solar Energy Facilities” (the...more
On July 3, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Army Corps”), and the Departments of Energy (“DOE”), Interior (“DOI”), Transportation (“DOT”),...more
Key Takeaways - -The Department of the Interior approved the reactivation of the Velvet-Wood uranium and vanadium mine using new emergency procedures issued pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order 14156, which declared...more
On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the Department of the Interior hosted a Tribal Consultation on Workforce Efficiency and Productivity (EO 14210) and Emergency Permitting Procedures to Strengthen Domestic Energy Supply in Anchorage,...more
In a significant policy shift, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) policy update designed to expedite the oil and gas leasing process on public lands. Through a newly issued...more
On April 23, 2025, the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) announced newly adopted emergency permitting procedures it is implementing to accelerate the review and approval of projects in relation “to the identification,...more
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
On Wednesday, April 16, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to order Equinor to “stop work” on its 812 megawatt Empire Wind 1 project just outside of New York Harbor....more
On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (“EO”) entitled Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production. The EO builds on previous energy-focused actions taken by the Administration, and...more
On March 20, 2025, the Trump administration invoked emergency powers in an Executive Order (EO) entitled Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, aiming to accelerate domestic mineral mining and processing....more
The order aims to coordinate government efforts to fast-track permitting and accelerate funding to enhance critical minerals value chains from the mine to finished products....more