NEPA
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Biden Administration Takes New Action to Ensure Increased Consideration of Climate Change Impacts by the Federal Government
On Friday, February 19, 2021, the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) rescinded prior draft guidance issued under the Trump Administration in 2019 (the “2019 Draft CEQ Guidance”), which had restricted the need for federal agencies to consider and quantify climate change impacts under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Continue reading
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DOE Final Rule Seeks to Streamline NEPA Review of LNG Projects
The Trump administration continues its efforts to issue new regulations in advance of January 20, 2021, with the Department of Energy (DOE) issuing a final rule that will exempt certain liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects from National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) review. Continue reading
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Trump Administration Issues Final Rule Substantially Modifying NEPA Regulations
On Wednesday, July 15, 2020, the Trump Administration announced the publication of comprehensive updates to federal regulations governing the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The updated regulations—issued by the Center on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”)—are provided in the agency’s final rule titled “Update to the Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National… Continue reading
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California Files Lawsuit Aimed at Halting Trump Administration Fracking Plans
the State of California filed a new complaint against the United States Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) seeking to block a BLM-issued resource management plan that proposes to open up more than one million acres of California land to hydraulic fracking and other forms of oil and gas drilling. If enacted, the challenged BLM plan… Continue reading
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Trump Administration Proposes Landmark Changes to National Environmental Policy Act’s Review Process
Marking the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), on January 1, 2020, the Trump White House published a Presidential Message announcing the imminent release of newly proposed regulations designed to “modernize” the foundational environmental statute. NEPA, which requires federal agencies to quantify and consider environmental impacts before undertaking actions… Continue reading
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Federal Judge Orders Dakota Access Pipeline to Revise Environmental Analysis; Leaves Status of Pipeline Construction Undecided
On June 14, 2017, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, issued an opinion in the case of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 16-cv-01534, finding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) did not fully comply with the National Environmental… Continue reading
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May 2010 Update: Climate Change
By Gabrielle Sigel and Jennifer Cassel Gabrielle Sigel and Jennifer Cassel, attorneys in Jenner & Block's Environmental, Energy & Natural Resources Law Practice, recently posted to Jenner & Block's Climate Change Update Resource Center their May 2010 Update of Climate Change developments. Of note in the May update are discussions of the Kerry/Lieberman draft climate… Continue reading
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Environmental Group Sues Department of Interior Over Offshore Drilling Approval
By Allison A. Torrence On May 17, 2010, Defenders of Wildlife filed a lawsuit against the Minerals Management Service (“MMS”), the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) and Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, in Federal District Court. The lawsuit alleges that MMS, DOI and Salazar violated the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) when… Continue reading