President Trump has issued a flurry of new Executive Orders and Presidential Memoranda aimed at advancing the Administration’s deregulatory agenda, particularly in the energy and environmental sectors. This advisory provides...more
On March 29, 2025, a Texas District Court ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) should have considered economic costs when crafting protections for the lesser-prairie chicken, a threatened species, under Section...more
Today the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued an interim final rule (IFR) that will soon remove all existing CEQ regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Other than the issuance of...more
As California remains at the forefront of environmental progress and regulation, 2025 will usher in pivotal developments in state-level policies addressing product stewardship, contaminants of concern, climate change, mobile...more
1/17/2025
/ California ,
Compliance ,
Contamination ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Policies ,
PFAS ,
Proposition 65 ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Toxic Chemicals
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced an abrupt reversion to its pre-2020 approach to biotechnology regulation on December 19, in the wake of a December 2...more
On December 12, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed listing the monarch butterfly as a threatened species with a special section 4(d) rule under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The special 4(d) rule...more
On November 12, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)—the entity under the Executive Office of the President that has long overseen National...more
The final days of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 term saw the release of several decisions that may – or may not, depending on one’s perspective and desired strategy – hold significant implications for administrative law...more
7/5/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Relentless Inc v US Department of Commerce ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together the Services) have issued three final rules effective May 6, 2024...more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) recently proposed eliminating its longstanding process and requirements for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The proposed rule would...more
On February 12, 2024, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a final rule that created several long-awaited general permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act) to authorize...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (together, the Agencies) issued a straight-to-final-rule revised definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) on August 29, 2023. This...more
On July 31, 2023, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed to update its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) across the federal government. Reflecting the increasingly...more
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a Proposed Rule on June 16, 2023, that would, if adopted, amend its existing right-of-way regulations to promote solar and wind energy development on public lands administered by...more
On June 8, 2023, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), on behalf of the Ocean Policy Committee (OPC), announced the development of a new “Ocean Justice...more
On May 25, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Sackett v. EPA, No. 21-454, holding that Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction extends to wetlands only if they have a continuous surface connection to...more
In April 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a proposed rule that would apply new “land health” standards to all BLM-managed public lands and programs. This new policy will have broad implications for federal...more
The dormant Commerce Clause is one of the oldest constitutional doctrines, dating to the early 1800s. The Commerce Clause of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to regulate interstate commerce, and the dormant...more
Today, President Biden signed a new executive order further directing all federal agencies to prioritize environmental justice (EJ) initiatives in their core missions. The Executive Order, entitled Revitalizing Our Nation’s...more
Securing Endangered Species Act (ESA) incidental take and other voluntary permits often requires so much time and money that their many compliance, streamlining, and conservation benefits can go unrealized. The U.S. Fish and...more
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently released for public comment a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would, if adopted, comprehensively update its Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) renewable energy...more
On December 30, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced a final rule once again updating the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) and,...more
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. The IRA includes a host of programs aimed at addressing climate change and energy production. These include, for example, major new or...more
8/17/2022
/ Clean Air Act ,
Energy Tax Incentives ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Investment Tax Credits ,
Popular ,
Production Tax Credit ,
Renewable Energy ,
Renewable Energy Incentives ,
Solar Energy ,
Tax Credits ,
Wind Power
After months of intense, and at times acrimonious, negotiations among the Democratic caucus, the United States Senate on August 7, 2022, passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA includes a host of programs aimed at...more
On May 5, 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced key developments that would elevate environmental justice (EJ) as a key priority for the nation’s largest and most powerful enforcement agency. These historic...more