Following its recent opinion in Village of Morrisville v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has once again waded into the issue of when a state waives its certification authority under...more
In recent years, a consistent issue facing hydroelectric project developers at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has been the length of time it takes states to act on requests for water quality...more
At its May 23, 2024 open meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) proposing to establish a one-year “reasonable period of time” for certifying authorities to...more
At its May 23 open meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), proposing to establish a one-year “reasonable period of time” for certifying authorities to act on...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order on November 17, 2022, approving the surrender of the FERC license for the Lower Klamath Project. This order authorizes the decommissioning and removal of four...more
On June 1, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of its proposal to re-write the Clean Water Act Section 401 rule (Certification Proposal), which, if finalized, is expected to have...more
On February 6, U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) introduced a proposal that would attempt to restore northwest salmon populations by breaching four dams managed by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) on the Lower Snake...more
On January 25, 2019, in Hoopa Valley Tribe v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, No. 14-1271, 2019 WL 321025 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 25, 2019), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the...more
On January 25, 2019, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that applicants for licenses under the Federal Power Act may not reach private agreements with states to circumvent the FPA requirement that states act on water...more
It is becoming increasingly difficult for the regulated community to stay abreast of state and federal environmental regulatory developments, particularly as they are decided in court. The following alert summarizes some...more
Three organizations of state environmental officials authored an October 5th letter to Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi expressing concern with provisions of...more
There were two court decisions this week regarding regulation of Maine rivers, one from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Watts v. BEP, and one federal, Friends of Merrymeeting Bay v. Hydro Kennebec, LLC. ...more