Congress To Pass Defense Bill With Sage Grouse Protection Restrictions

Congress is set to begin ironing out differences in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week. The bill funds Department of Defense programs and activities.
The House version of the must-pass bill includes a rider that would prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from listing the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act ...Read More

Second District Court of Appeal Upholds Application of Existing Facilities Exemption for Power Plant Lease Extension

The case World Business Academy v. California State Lands Commission (2018, Case No. B284300) involves PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County, and a dispute regarding the State Lands Commission’s decision to approve a lease extension via a CEQA categorical exemption.

The Diablo Canyon nuclear plant as been operating since 1985 and ...Read More

President Trump Pardons Oregon Men Whose Case Sparked Wildlife Refuge Takeover

President Trump on Tuesday pardoned a pair of Oregon cattle ranchers who had been serving sentences for arson on federal land — sentences that set off the armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in 2016.  Dwight L. Hammond, now 76, and his son, Steven D. Hammond, 49, became a cause célèbre that inspired an antigovernment ...Read More

Scott Pruitt to Resign From EPA

Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, is resigning after facing criticism for ethical allegations for several months. The news came out in a Tweet by President Trump who accepted Pruitt’s resignation. Pruitt faced scrutiny for potential ethical lapses tied to his spending, treatment of staff, relationships with energy leaders, housing, and travel ...Read More