On July 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) circulated an internal memorandum, requiring 68 different DOI actions related to wind and solar project development to be submitted to the DOI Office of the...more
On December 17, 2024, President Biden signed into law the bipartisan Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 (Public Law No. 118-155) (the “Act”). The Act is a response to ongoing environmental...more
This week, the Ninth Circuit considers personal jurisdiction in a trademark declaratory judgment action and assesses an agency’s decision to omit an environmental-impact statement in connection with a forest-fire-management...more
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a planned $8 billion, 600-mile natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to North Carolina. Petitioner Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC seeks to build the pipeline, which would traverse 21 miles of...more
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held in United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association that the U.S. Forest Service was authorized to issue a special use permit granting a 0.1-mile right of...more
The United States Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) of the United States Department of Interior (“DOI”) issued a July 2019 report titled: The NPS Needs to Improve Management of Commercial Cellular Facilities’...more
Fire Island is a 32-mile long, slender barrier sand bar island located between the Atlantic Ocean and the South Shore of Long Island. The island, which varies in width from as little as about 550 feet to not more than about...more
On March 1, 2017, the Senate confirmed Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) as Secretary of the Interior in a 68-31 bipartisan vote. He was sworn into the Cabinet later that day by Vice President Mike Pence. Zinke was able to attract...more
Environmental and Policy Focus: U.S. EPA settles case over destruction of rare Central Valley wetlands: EPA - Aug 14: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice today announced a...more