On April 17, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together Services) published a proposed rule to rescind the long-standing definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species...more
4/21/2025
/ Chevron Deference ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On the evening of April 9, 2025, the Trump administration released a pair of deregulatory executive actions that could have major implications for any industry subject to federal rules — and are also likely to be a magnet for...more
4/11/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Climate Change ,
Deregulation ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
On February 19, the White House unveiled an interim final rule (IFR) to rescind all National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations that the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has promulgated since 1977....more
2/21/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Audubon Society ,
CEQ ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Final Rules ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
This past Monday, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota issued its ruling in the closely watched case of Iowa v. Council on Envtl. Quality, 1:24-cv-089 (D.N.D. Feb. 3, 2025), vacating the Biden...more
Newly confirmed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wasted little time implementing many of President Trump’s initial energy executive orders (EOs), unleashing a round of Secretary’s Orders (SOs) this past Monday that push fossil...more
2/6/2025
/ Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Infrastructure ,
Mining ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
Secretary of the Interior ,
Trump Administration
Among President Donald Trump’s directives issued on his first day in office was a Presidential Memorandum targeting wind energy, which has been a significant source of new electricity generation in the United States over the...more
1/23/2025
/ Clean Water Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Reform ,
Executive Orders ,
NEPA ,
Offshore Wind ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
Trump Administration ,
Wind Power
On March 27, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) issued three sets of final rules revising the Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations. The...more
The Endangered Species Act regulations have become a political hot potato, with regulatory revisions occurring each time there is a change in administration. On March 28, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the...more
4/5/2024
/ Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Final Rules ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Section 7 ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) continues to focus on protections for bat species that have been ravaged by white-nose syndrome. In 2023, the Northern Long-Eared Bat (NLEB) was uplisted to endangered status. The FWS...more
Effective April 12, a new eagle take permitting regime will be in place. The eagle take permitting scheme has been criticized because of its overly conservative and burdensome requirements. These concerns culminated in a...more
On February 8, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed regulatory changes (Proposed Rule) focused on the application and approval process for Endangered Species Act (ESA) permits issued under Section 10. Section 10...more
On February 8, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released draft guidance (Draft Guidance) on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Act) (known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) Section 247 incentive, one of the...more
2022 was an active year for the hydropower industry, and as 2023 begins, it’s appropriate to review last year’s highlights and forecast the anticipated trends to continue this year. ...more
In December 2022, several federal agencies announced awards and recommendations for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding. The BIL represents a core piece of President Biden’s agenda and provides significant funding for...more
2/15/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Bipartisan Agreement ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electricity ,
Endangered Species ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Federal Funding ,
Hydropower ,
Infrastructure ,
Regulatory Agenda
On November 17, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced that $38 million in grant funding is available in fiscal year 2023 for fish passage projects. The goal is to award this funding to projects that address...more
On September 22, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) issued an order on rehearing (Rehearing Order), denying the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (Interior) request to include a requirement for a...more
On Friday, September 30, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published its much-anticipated proposal, updating the regulations governing permits for incidental take of bald and golden eagles, as well as take of their...more
On September 14, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a proposal to list the tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus) as an endangered species....more
On August 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overruled several orders by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and held that the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) did not waive...more
On June 24, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (together, the Services) issued a final rule that removes the definition of “habitat” from the Code of Federal...more
In the world of air quality and climate change, summer 2022 began with a bang, as the Supreme Court finally spoke on the merits of EPA’s efforts to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants under Section 111 of the...more
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations promulgated by the Trump administration (Trump ESA Rules) were challenged by environmental groups. While that challenge was pending, the Biden administration announced that those...more
On April 15, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an Equity Action Plan (EAP) that introduces a two-year overhaul to review its policies to better promote equity and remove barriers to environmental...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
With spring finally arriving, the long-expected avalanche of EPA activity on air issues has also arrived. In this second year of the Biden administration, following the pattern of prior administrations, we are starting to see...more