Stuck in the swamp?
Proposed Trump revisions to the definition of “waters of the United States” would reduce wetlands protections, but may (mostly) be required by the Supreme Court.
The Trump Administration has a proposed rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States” for the Clean Water Act (comment period closing on Monday, if you want to get your two cents in). The definition is important (and has been the subject of a lot of litigation) because it defines the scope of what the Clean Water Act applies to – both the requirement that discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States require a permit (under Section 402...
CONTINUE READINGPing-pong government and the ESA
Recent proposed revisions for the ESA just reset the clock to 2020.
The Trump Administration in November proposed revisions to the regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Normally, I would try to do a thoughtful review of the changes and what I think their implications are. But that is really not necessary this time, since what the Administration is proposing is to undo Biden Administration changes and return to the 2019 revisions the first Trump Administration did. So in the interests of brevity, here are the li...
CONTINUE READINGOn the theory of permitting certainty
It’s a hard problem to solve. There might be lessons from housing and land-use.
What is being called “permitting certainty” is now a central component of any permitting reform that might pass through this Congress. Permitting certainty is the concept of making it harder for the Executive Branch to capriciously revoke permits based on personal grudges, political vendettas, or other factors that Congress does not wish to be the basis of permitting decisions. It is a response to this Administration’s capricious war on renewable permitting. ...
CONTINUE READINGVeto trouble
Trump’s veto of consensus legislation is trouble for future bipartisan permitting reform.
This week, President Trump vetoed two pieces of legislation, his first vetoes of his second term. There were two unusual points about these vetoes – even for this Administration. First, the bills in question were small, local matters. One bill involved a water project to benefit rural southeastern Colorado. The other bill expanded the scope of a Florida tribe’s reservation. Second, both bills passed by voice vote – which means they were unopposed in both ...
CONTINUE READINGKick Him In The Tender Parts
Why in the world does New York still have the Donald J. Trump State Park?
You might have missed it, but while most normal Americans were celebrating the New Year, Donald Trump continued his serial ransacking of public spaces and buildings. On New Year’s Eve, the Administration announced the cancelling of leases of three DC golf courses, with the intention of transferring the leases to the Trump Organization. As golf reporter Kevin Van Valkenburg noted, This hasn't resonated yet outside golf, but what this administration is essentially...
CONTINUE READINGSome Good News To Close Out This Year
Despite the Trump Administration's attempts to bring the world into the dark ages, lots of light is blazing
I’m a pretty pessimistic guy. Finding the dark cloud behind the silver lining is something of a specialty for me. But maybe at the end of an atrocious year for environmental law and policy in the United States, we should look for the good news, and thanks to the good people at Canary Media, there actually is quite a lot. Here are some highlights, but as they say, read the whole thing. Relentless Rise of Renewables This has gotten a lot of press, but we ...
CONTINUE READINGThat Was the Year That Was
2025 had a lot of bad environmental news, but also a few rays of hope.
2025 has been a dark time for Americans who care about the environment. Rather than being a repeat of his first term, which had been bad enough , Trump’s second term has been an all-out, brutal assault on the environment.. Major environmental rollbacks are on the way, as they were in his first term,although the rollbacks are more sweeping this time. But regulatory rollbacks can be fought in court. Other Trump actions are even more damaging. The biggest dam...
CONTINUE READINGNEPA and Democracy
The Trump Administration is at war with transparency and public input.
A striking pattern has emerged from the Administration’s paring back of NEPA. These efforts persistently target requirements for transparency and public input That applies to the administration’s permitting reforms. It also applies to the process that is generating those permitting reforms. In both situations, agencies are fleeing the light of day. Until the Trump Administration, the process of environmental review involved ample opportunities for public review....
CONTINUE READINGUsing Maps to Make Housing Politics Easier
Setting clear borders as to where upzoning to advance housing would apply may help ease the politics of housing policy
A recent article in the SF Chronicle highlighted how it has been easier for housing advocates to get upzoning reforms that facilitate housing production in Oregon – with the upzoning provisions in Oregon having significantly fewer exceptions and carveouts than comparable provisions in California. The result is that Portland has seen more movement in housing production than California has. One point made at the end of the article is the role that Oregon’s urban g...
CONTINUE READINGPoisoning the well
Trump Administration “pause” on offshore wind projects undermines prospect of permitting deal
Yesterday, the Trump Administration announced that it was “pausing” construction for the five major offshore wind projects on the East Coast, based on “national security” grounds – because of the possibility that wind turbines can interfere with radar operations. This announcement is, to say the least, not helpful for current permitting reform discussions. It emphasizes further that any permitting reform deal has to ensure that the Administration both (a) ...
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