Proposed Changes to NEPA Would Restrict Climate Change Review

President Trump announced a proposed rule package of
National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) regulatory changes that are designed
to speed up approvals for projects ranging from pipelines to roads and dams.
According to the president, this rule was prompted by the unfairly long amount
of time it takes to approve projects.

NEPA is the federal statute that requires federal ...Read More

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEEKS TO AMEND NEPA REGULATIONS AND ACCELERATE PERMIT PROCESSING

On January 9, 2020, President Trump announced his intention to update the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) regulations and further stated that such updates were a top priority.  This reform would be the first major change NEPA has experienced in over 40 years. As proposed, the NEPA regulations would expedite NEPA requirements by clarifying, ...Read More

OPR Releases new Technical Advisory on CEQA Exemptions

CEQA exemptions provide a streamlined path to
entitlement for projects and are almost always preferred if available. On
January 16, 2020, the Office of Planning and Research released updated to two technical
advisories. One is related to application of CEQA exemptions in disaster
recovery efforts, and the other addresses CEQA review of housing projects.

The technical advisory addressing CEQA review ...Read More

BLM Publishes FEIS for Geothermal Leasing Area In Inyo County California

On January 23, 2020, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”)
published the Final Environmental Impact Statement (“FEIS”) for the proposed
Haiwee Geothermal Leasing Area Project in Inyo County,
California.  The FEIS analyzes the proposed leasing of 22,800 acres
of publicly owned land for geothermal exploration, development, and
utilization. 

The FEIS provides a comprehensive analysis of the potential
environmental impacts for the proposed Land ...Read More