Proof in Trial: Appellate Edition: Stand Up for California et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al.
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 the President’s first day in office, January 20, the White House released Executive Order 14153, titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” (the “Alaska EO”). The Alaska EO states that: The State of...more
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Earthworks v. U.S. Department of the Interior has important implications for mining companies operating on public lands. This ruling upholds the Bureau of...more
This article is part of Womble Bond Dickinson’s Energy & Natural Resources thought leadership series titled Striking the Balance: Permitting Reforms for Mining and the Energy Transition. In this series, we’ll explore the...more
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced an update to its 2012 plan for solar power development in the western U.S., adding five states to the original six. The original plan identified prime areas for solar development...more
The United States Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) issued a November 15th Instruction Memorandum (“IM”) titled: Habitat Connectivity on Public Lands...more
On Friday, I posted about a decision invalidating BLM Resource Manage Plans for failure to comply with NEPA. My caption was “NEPA Is Still Going to Pose an Obstacle to Leasing Public Lands for Fossil Fuel Extraction.”...more
In order to keep pace with the federal government’s ambitious goal of permitting the production of at least twenty-five (25) gigawatts of renewable energy through projects placed on public land by 2025, the Department of the...more
As the 2020 presidential campaign made clear, President-elect Biden plans to usher in a sharp shift in policy priorities across the federal government. We anticipate significant changes in the management of federal public...more
The Ninth Circuit held that a 2012 Environmental Impact Statement that provided a programmatic-level analysis for management of lands in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve could also be used as the site-specific analysis...more
As discussed in this previous post, the federal government’s regulation of methane for the oil and gas industry — both from the Department of Interior on public land, and from EPA — continues to swing back and forth due to...more
Renewable energy on public lands may receive a boost from legislation introduced by Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Mike Levin (D-CA) on July 17....more
On January 11, 2017, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) within the Department of the Interior released a scoping report analyzing a wide range of proposed reforms to the federal coal leasing program, administered by the BLM....more
US District Court rejects US Bureau of Land Management’s rule regarding hydraulic fracturing operations on federal and Tribal lands. On June 21, 2016, the US District Court for the District of Wyoming (District Court)...more
Late yesterday, Judge Scott Skavdahl of the federal district court in Wyoming issued a much-anticipated order granting a series of preliminary injunction motions filed in litigation challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s...more