On June 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued formal guidance describing BLM’s policy for authorizing use of federal public lands for site characterization, injection, and...more
Everyone has heard a bad joke where the setup for the punchline is “well, it coulda been worse”. Hardrock mining companies operating on federal public lands presumably didn’t feel like laughing when the House Natural...more
The omnibus appropriations legislation passed by Congress in December 2020 contained notable bipartisan energy initiatives, including extension of tax incentives for renewable energy development, energy efficiency, and energy...more
On Thursday, May 28, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to stay on appeal a lower court ruling which has already had a nationwide impact on permitting of oil and gas pipelines that cross streams...more
5/29/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Nationwide Permits (NWPs) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Section 404 ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
The greater sage-grouse is a chicken-like bird that is currently found in 11 western states. For more than 25 years, there has been considerable controversy concerning whether to list the greater sage-grouse for protection...more
11/1/2019
/ Bureau of Land Management ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Forest Service ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
NEPA ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Voters in several western states on November 6th defeated citizen-initiated ballot initiatives that would have heavily regulated mineral and energy development. The highest profile failed initiative was Colorado’s Proposition...more
Buried deep inside the recently passed Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, legislation reviving the formerly expired Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) offers opportunities for potential purchasers of...more