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
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced on May 30 that it will invoke emergency permitting procedures to accelerate environmental review of select geothermal energy projects, with three proposed geothermal...more
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
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 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
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
On March 18, three advocacy organizations and their members filed a lawsuit challenging an offshore wind project against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The...more
On Thursday, October 12, 2023, Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of the United States Department of the Interior and Vineyard Wind, and denied...more
On August 10, 2023, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“NOPR”) proposing to establish an integrated Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations Program (“CITAP Program”) that...more
The federal government has successfully defended its approvals of the Vineyard Wind project offshore Massachusetts (Project), setting the stage for further decisions as other challenges proceed. Vineyard Wind is the first...more
On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) and Vineyard Wind, and denied summary...more
New York Bight Lease Sale Under Attack - A New Jersey-based nonprofit organization, Save Long Beach Island, and its president sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in January 2022. They are asserting...more
2021 witnessed a new but familiar competition among stakeholders for the use and enjoyment of the Outer Continental Shelf. Last year, interested parties initiated five lawsuits against the first federally approved offshore...more
Interest in US offshore wind development is at an all-time high, as the Biden Administration and lawmakers continue to create renewable energy project incentives and opportunities, shareholders demand action from companies to...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
Linear infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and transportation, have faced a number of regulatory challenges in recent months. Some of these challenges stem from changes in...more
On June 17, 2020, a federal court in Colorado vacated an incidental take permit (ITP) issued to the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) authorizing take of the endangered American burying beetle (ABB) that could occur in...more
Update June 17, 2020: On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers filed an application to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of the April 15, 2020, order (amended May 11, 2020) issued by the U.S. District Court of...more
On April 15, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana issued an order that could impact energy and development projects across the United States. The court granted partial summary judgment in favor of...more
The greater sage-grouse is a chicken-like bird that is currently found in 11 western states. For more than 25 years, there has been considerable controversy concerning whether to list the greater sage-grouse for protection...more
On July 7, 2016, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced its Record of Decision (ROD) for the Upper Great Plains Wind Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). This is the final step in a process...more
On August 11, 2015, the US District Court for the Northern District of California remanded a US Fish & Wildlife Service’s (FWS) 2013 final rule that had extended the maximum duration of eagle take programmatic permits under...more
National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) challenges to pipeline projects and other natural gas infrastructure have become a commonplace tool in recent years for environmental groups seeking to defeat or delay midstream...more