On Friday, April 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied Dakota Access LLC’s request for a rehearing on a three-judge panel ruling that the Dakota Access Pipeline (the “DAPL”) is operating without a key federal permit. By denying the petition, the appeals court stood by its January decision, which upheld the […]
Almost immediately upon taking the oath of office, President Biden signed Executive Order No. 14008 (EO 14008 or EO). Among other actions, EO 14008 (available HERE) “paused” oil and natural gas development on federal public lands and in offshore waters of the United States. (See EO 14008 HERE). In response to EO 14008, fourteen states […]
Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland issued two Secretarial Orders to prioritize action on climate change and to revoke numerous Trump-administration Secretarial Orders that encouraged fossil fuel energy production and streamlined NEPA review for energy and infrastructure projects on DOI-managed land. On Friday, April 19, 2020, Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland […]
A January 2021 rule promulgated by the Trump administration that established procedures for the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) guidance document procedures was rescinded by the CEQ effective April 13, 2021. The rescinded rule had originally been issued by the CEQ in furtherance of Trump’s October 2019 executive order “Promoting the Rule of […]
The National Resources Management Act was approved yesterday by Congress in a landslide 363-62 vote. The Act is a sweeping public lands conservation package that will protect millions of acres of land and rivers across the country. It also designates over 1 million acres of new wilderness land, with almost 700,000 acres reserved for recreation […]
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently reported that oil and natural gas lease sales produced more than $1.1 billion in 2018, shattering the previous record of $408 billion in 2008. The revenue was generated by 28 sales amounting to around 1,412 parcels of land and covering about 1.5 million acres. The BLM offers lease […]
On December 28, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) published a revised Waters of the U.S. (“WOTUS”) to clarify the scope of waters federally regulated under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). The proposed rule is open for a 60-day comment period. The proposed rule is intended to […]
On December 18, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act (“Act”). The Act is a bipartisan bill that was introduced by Senator John Hoeven from North Dakota. Hoeven is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. The new law preserves trust reform principles and mechanisms in […]
The U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in Weyerhaeuser Co. v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) that resulted in a significant victory for private property rights. Using common sense, the Supreme Court interpreted the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) to allow critical habitat designations only in areas that the USFWS determines are actually habitat for […]
On Thursday, December 6, 2018, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) released proposals that would revise conservation efforts for the sage grouse made under the Obama administration. The changes are being made to enhance cooperation with Western states, and ease restrictions on oil and natural gas drilling, mining, and other activities. In 2017, the Trump […]
