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
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
President Trump hit the ground running, issuing more executive orders, memoranda, and other actions on Inauguration Day than any previous president. Agencies are already working to implement those actions. Many of the actions...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
On Monday, January 13, 2025, California withdrew requests for Clean Air Act waivers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needed to support four recently adopted vehicle emissions regulations: 1) the Advanced...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has proposed listing the northwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata) and the southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida) as threatened species under the federal Endangered Species...more
I can hear the music in my ear, and the voice: “Space, the final frontier… “. Endangered and threatened species are destined to boldly go where none of them has gone before – habitats outside of their historical range....more
On October 18, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced 12-month findings on a petition to list three California-based salamander species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA): the Kern Plateau salamander...more
On December 22, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposed to list the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl (Glaucidium brasilianum cactorum) (Owl) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) primarily due...more
On October 7th, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) announced the Biden Administration’s first round of proposed revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. Each of the “Phase 1” changes will...more
On Monday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a final rule delisting the now-recovered Cumberland sandwort (Arenaria cumberlandensis) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Originally listed as endangered in...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
Right out of the box, the Biden Administration took a decisive stance on the importance of climate costs in agency decision making, returning to Obama-era metrics and values. On his first day in office, President Biden issued...more
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
Biden orders review and reversal of over 100 Trump administration environmental regulations - The New York Times – January 20 - President Joe Biden this Wednesday recommitted the United States to the Paris climate...more
Each new presidential administration brings with it its own set of policy goals and priorities. While the text of the environmental laws does not change without an act of Congress, agencies within the executive branch have a...more
Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s inauguration on January 20, 2021 as the forty-sixth President of the United States could usher in a sweeping period of environmental regulatory changes vastly eclipsing those of his immediate predecessor...more
Biden picks North Carolina environmental chief to lead EPA - Associated Press – December 17 - President-elect Joe Biden this Thursday selected Michael S. Regan to serve as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental...more
U.S. formally exits Paris Climate Agreement - Bullet Associated Press – November 4 - The United States this Wednesday formally left the Paris Climate Agreement, a global pact it helped forge five years ago during the...more
California plans to ban sales of new gas-powered cars in 15 years - The New York Times – September 23 - California plans to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars statewide by 2035, Governor Gavin Newsom announced...more
Air Resources Board mandates big increase in zero-emission trucks - Bullet Los Angeles Times – June 25 - The California Air Resources Board (CARB) last week approved the nation’s toughest clean-air mandate on trucks,...more
Federal court rejects attempt to toss endangered species lawsuit - Bullet The Hill – May 19 - On Monday, Judge Jon Tigar, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, denied the federal...more
California approves ambitious new plan to deal with climate change and sea-level rise - San Francisco Chronicle – February 26 - The state's Ocean Protection Council, the cabinet-level policy body within the California...more
Former PG&E lawyer named new regional EPA chief in California - Los Angeles Times – February 11 - Days after U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removed its top official in California, Mike Stoker, the agency...more
On October 7, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the agency’s 12-month findings that a dozen species are not warranted for listing as endangered or threatened...more