As the public comment period ended for the Federal Energy Commission’s proposed revision to its gas pipeline policy, it appeared that the U.S. EPA was backtracking on earlier recommendations it had made to FERC as far as tools for evaluating climate change impacts. The proposed policy identified that FERC was considering changes to how large […]
As of July 24, the BLM has taken an updated position on the issue of compensatory mitigation. The BLM states in a new policy: “Except where the law specifically requires, the BLM must not require compensatory mitigation from public land users.” The BLM will still, in limited circumstances, consider voluntary proposals for compensatory mitigation, but […]
As part of an infrastructure investment proposal unveiled by the Trump administration in February, many significant regulatory and environmental permitting reforms are expected in the coming year. One current proposal involves expanding authority under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to states, requiring states and localities to shoulder a larger share of infrastructure project costs […]
Rumors swirling around Washington D.C. indicate that the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) may release a statement rescinding the fairly recently published USFWS Service-Wide Mitigation policy and Endangered Species Act-Compensatory Mitigation Policy, without replacing either policy. Further, the agency may also take the position that, in the absence of further congressional directive, the DOI is […]
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 […]
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 […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced on June 27, 2018 that Administrator Scott Pruitt wants to do away with the agency’s power to veto permits allowing material from mining and infrastructure projects to impact waters of the U.S. Pruitt directed the agency to put together a proposal to change regulations controlling the agency’s authority […]
The White House has taken the first official steps toward rewriting regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act. The Council on Environmental Quality submitted an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking on NEPA to the Federal Register last Friday. Link HERE. A CEQ spokesman said the document would be published “in the next couple of days.” […]
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo found that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) must set aside 13 oil and gas leases covering approximately 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest. Specifically, Judge Armijo found that BLM’s greenhouse gas analysis was insufficient, and set aside the BLM’s finding of no significant […]
A group of states, including California and New York, asked a federal judge this week to invalidate the US EPA’s recent choice to delay implementing an Obama-era update to the Clean Water Rule, arguing that the agency failed to follow proper notice-and-comment protocol when delaying the rule’s application. The rule, to be implemented by EPA […]
