May 13, 2022 | Category:
NewsThe Biden administration canceled plans to auction drilling rights in three regions off the U.S. coastline later this year, adding more friction to an uneasy relationship with the oil industry during a period of high gasoline prices. The decision to cancel lease sales for two regions in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the […]
April 27, 2022 | Category:
NewsOn April 25th, the Biden Administration cut oil and gas leasing and prohibited all infrastructure over 13,000 square miles, reversing a 2020 Trump policy that opened up most of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) to exergy exploration and production. The NPRA is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and was originally […]
April 7, 2022 | Category:
NewsBy Kurt Whitman and Daniel Warren In a recently published opinion (Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters v. City of Los Angeles), the Second District Court of Appeal (Court) reversed a trial court judgment and held that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) contained an adequate project description for a proposed mixed-use development, and the Final EIR […]
March 28, 2022 | Category:
NewsThe U.S. Supreme Court will review the Ninth Circuit’s decision upholding a California ballot initiative that banned in-state sales of pork from sows kept in confined housing. The law, Proposition 12, a 2018 ballot measure that was approved by more than 60 percent of the state’s voters, was challenged by two trade groups that said […]
March 24, 2022 | Category:
NewsEnergy companies are squarely in the crosshairs of Biden’s sweeping climate disclosure proposal, and the reams of information they must provide is intended to increase pressure to decarbonize their businesses. Here, attorneys share with Law360 four significant takeaways for energy companies from the SEC’s proposal. Companies will face higher compliance costs and new disclosure challenges […]
March 8, 2022 | Category:
NewsJoe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil and gas imports, ratcheting up sanctions over its war against Ukraine. “Today, I am announcing the United States is targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy. We’re banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy,” Biden said. “That means Russian oil will no longer be […]
December 3, 2021 | Category:
NewsThe Washington Examiner proclaiming what those of us permitting projects on the ground have known for decades: The environmental review process at state and federal levels is completely broken. An excerpt from the article (link to article HERE): When Honolulu approved plans to construct a rail transit line stretching 20 miles into the suburbs in […]
October 21, 2021 | Category:
NewsOn August 30, 2021, the U.S. District Court of Arizona issued an opinion that effectively repealed the Trump-era definition of Waters of the United States (“WOTUS”) under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). Pasqua Yaqui Tribe v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2021) — F.Supp.3d — (“Pasqua”) involved a challenge by multiple Native American Tribes of two […]
September 24, 2021 | Category:
NewsOn Thursday, August 5th, 2021, the Biden Administration announced that the President plans to sign an executive order setting a target of 50% of all new vehicles sold in 2030 to be zero-emissions vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or fuel cell electric vehicles. (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/08/05/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-steps-to-drive-american-leadership-forward-on-clean-cars-and-trucks/.) The purpose of the yet to be signed executive […]
August 18, 2021 | Category:
NewsOn July 8, 2021, the California Department of Conservation, Geologic Energy Management Division (“CalGEM”) (formerly known as DOGGR), issued two separate letters denying a total of twenty-one Well Stimulation Treatment (“WST”) permit applications. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” is a type of WST. All twenty-one denied WST permits applications were submitted by Aera Energy, […]
