On-Demand Webinar | Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
On May 9, 2025, fifteen democratic states (“Plaintiff States”) sued the Trump Administration in Washington District Court, claiming that President Trump’s executive order “Declaring a National Energy Emergency” (“Executive...more
The Trump administration is moving to effectively eliminate a crucial protection in the half-century-old federal Endangered Species Act by redefining a single word: harm. A proposed rule, issued this Wednesday from the U.S....more
Defenders of Wildlife (“Defenders”) announced on March 13th its release of a document titled: 2024 Conservation Report Card for the 118th Congress (“Report Card”). Defenders says the Report Card assesses the...more
President Trump concluded that the integrity and expansion of the energy infrastructure of the United States is an immediate priority for the nation's economic and national security....more
President Donald Trump’s second term has already proven to be an extension of his first-term deregulatory agenda at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Given historical trends, such deregulation will likely prompt...more
On January 20, President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders and memorandums that will have significant implications for projects seeking federal permits and subject to review under the National Environmental...more
In the two weeks following his second-term inauguration, President Donald Trump issued dozens of executive orders, many of which focus on energy independence and streamlining governmental approvals. The long-term...more
On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued several Executive Orders and memoranda (the “EOs”) signaling a significant policy shift favoring robust and market-based energy production (mostly relying on fossil fuels), while...more
On his first day in office, US President Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders and memoranda reversing many of his predecessor’s climate policies and launching a promised transformation of the nation’s...more
Now that the 119th Congress has been sworn in, attention turns to how the Republican-controlled House, Senate, and White House will use the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The CRA creates a review period in which Congress can...more
Updates to federal environmental and natural resource regulations and recent consequential decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court have resulted in a significant shift to the federal environmental and natural resource landscape...more
Companies in a wide range of industries are subject to the oversight of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA enforces numerous environmental laws, environmental regulations, and executive orders to...more
On November 30, 2022, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a final rule reclassifying the northern long-eared bat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), uplisting the bat from “threatened” to...more
U.S. Supreme Court leans toward limiting scope of Clean Water Act - U.S. News & World Report – October 3 - U.S. Supreme Court justices on October 3 appeared open to limiting the reach of the U.S. Environmental Protection...more
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reverses changes to Endangered Species Act’s habitat rule - Associated Press - July 20 - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on Wednesday canceled a Trump administration policy...more
The Western Environmental Law Center and Center for Biological Diversity (collectively “CBD”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States District Court for the District of...more
Federal court rejects continued application of Trump-era water quality review rule pending adoption of alternative regulation - Courthouse News Service – October 22 - Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for...more
Selected federal regulatory actions taken or proposed by several federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency: EPA Actions. On September 15, 2021, EPA’s Water Office issued a memo rescinding a January...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
Officials call for protection of Redwood City’s salt ponds - The San Mateo Daily Journal – February 19 - Nearly 60 Bay Area political leaders and organizations last Tuesday asked the Biden administration to protect...more
JANUARY 2020 - FEDERAL APPELLATE COURTS - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - El Paso County, Texas, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al. On January 8, 2020, a divided panel of the court quickly granted a...more
News stories and campaign rhetoric frequently create expectations of immediate shifts following an administration change, but most changes in the federal government happen slowly, and the constraint on resources and time...more
On June 4, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order to provide federal agencies the foundation to speed up environmental permitting in the wake of COVID-19. ...more