In September 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality enacted new regulations that set forth procedures federal agencies are to utilize when implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Numerous commentaries...more
In September 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality enacted new regulations that set forth procedures federal agencies are to utilize when implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Numerous commentaries...more
On September 8, 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published a proposed rule codifying procedures for excluding areas of “critical habitat” under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). ESA section...more
9/10/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Weyerhaeuser Company v United States Fish and Wildlife Service
This is the final in our series of eAlerts on revisions to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2020 by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (“Final Rule”)....more
9/4/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
CEQ ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Final Rules ,
NEPA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
On August 11, 2020, a federal district court in New York ruled that the unintentional or incidental “take” of migratory birds is a crime under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”), vacating a Department of the Interior...more
8/12/2020
/ Department of the Interior ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Strict Liability ,
Trump Administration ,
Vacated
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
7/14/2020
/ Construction Industry ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Infrastructure ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
National Historic Preservation Act ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Waters of the United States ,
Webinars
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
6/12/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Construction Project ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Development ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Infrastructure ,
Marine Life Protections ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Trump Administration
Yesterday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit the decision of a lower court to vacate nationwide permit 12 (NWP 12) until the Corps completes...more
On Monday, the United States District Court for the District of Montana issued an order amending its previous order, which had invalidated nationwide permit 12 (NWP 12) on the basis that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...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
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
4/19/2020
/ Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy & Climate Debates ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Keystone XL Pipeline ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Real Estate Development ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Vacated
On April 8, 2020 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced its next step in conservation of the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus): finalization of the Nationwide Candidate Conservation Agreement for...more
Many projects require federal incidental take authority due to impacts on species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). Depending upon the species, this federal take authority is obtained either from the...more
Yesterday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released a pre-publication version of its long-awaited update to regulations governing Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) implementation (Proposed Regulations)....more
1/31/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Department of the Interior ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
NEPA ,
Notice of Intent ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Strict Liability ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Wind Farm ,
Wind Power
Yesterday, in Center for Biological Diversity v. Everson?, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia overturned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) decision to list the northern long-eared bat...more
1/29/2020
/ Center for Biological Diversity ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Remand ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Vacated
On December 13, 2018, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado vacated an eagle take permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) authorizing a construction company to disturb a pair of...more
The most comprehensive Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) bill of this Congressional session made its debut on July 2, 2018 when Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (“EPW”)...more
7/6/2018
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Delisting ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform
The Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) has announced a 90-day comment period on proposed amendments to six Resource Management Plans (“RMPs”) and associated draft Environmental Impact Statements (“DEISs”) designed to protect...more
5/4/2018
/ Bureau of Land Management ,
Comment Period ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Natural Resources ,
Public Land ,
Resource Management ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On April 3, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a final to rule listing the yellow lance mussel (Elliptio lanceolata) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). ...more
On December 27, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit partially reversed and remanded a decision by the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, delaying if not derailing an expansion in...more
1/3/2018
/ Appeals ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fishing Industry ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
NEPA ,
Policy Violations ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
It has been a busy October for the greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). On October 11, 2017, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced its intention to amend the existing greater sage grouse habitat management...more
10/25/2017
/ Comment Period ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Delisting ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Proposed Rules ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On April 28, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the United States District Court for the District of Montana’s finding that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) determination...more
On August 4, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a final rule confirming its 2011 revision to the designation of critical habitat for the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus). The Service listed...more
On the heels of the recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) decision not to list the greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) under the Endangered Species Act and the concurrent Bureau of Land Management (BLM)...more