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
In a significant victory for the hydropower industry, last week the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon issued an order in Cascadia Wildlands v. EWEB (Case No. 6:25-00446), reaffirming that the U.S. courts of...more
On July 23, 2025, the White House issued an Executive Order titled “Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure.” Released alongside “America’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan,” the Order reflects a...more
On July 15, 2025, the Office of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior (the “Department”) issued a memorandum—“Departmental Review Procedures for Decisions, Actions, Consultations, and Other Undertakings Related to...more
A new executive order seeks to streamline funding for and construction of data center projects by reducing regulatory red tape. On July 23, 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order titled “Accelerating...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
On January 24, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14181 (“EO 14181”), entitled “Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas.” While alluding to...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
The executive order aims to expedite energy projects, boost domestic production, and strengthen U.S. energy independence through streamlined regulatory reforms. On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued the “Declaring a...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
In companion rulings favoring offshore wind developers and federal agencies, the First Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed rulings issued by the District Court (D. Mass.) and dismissed challenges brought by two...more
Tomorrow, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will publish its final rule updating regulations implementing section 10 of the Endangered Species Act (Section 10), which addresses the agency’s issuance of incidental...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 July 10, Governor Newsom signed five California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reform bills (SB 145, 146, 147, 149 & 150) as part of an infrastructure streamlining plan that the Governor’s office has called the “the...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
Reversing the district court, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit held that that the Bureau of Reclamation and a local water agency have discretion to release water from Twitchell Dam on the Santa Maria River on the Central...more
Last Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued an order on competing motions in the coordinated cases challenging the 2019 biological opinions (BiOps) that govern operation of California’s...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
This week, I published a post on the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management’s DeltaCurrents blog discussing the role of conceptual ecological models in implementing the federal Endangered Species Act....more
On March 10, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a biological opinion (BiOp) and incidental take statement (ITS) issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in connection with a...more
President-elect Biden will assume office in January, 2021, with a divided nation, the global coronavirus pandemic, and a domestic energy market in a distressed state. The new administration will need to oversee the management...more
White House directs agencies to relax enforcement - Los Angeles Times – September 9 - A memorandum produced by the White House Office of Management and Budget and sent to federal agency heads last week instructs them to...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 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
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. ...more