Deepwater Horizon

Gulf oil spill update

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig rig explosion was bound to put some pressure on the Obama administration to renounce the plan it announced just three weeks earlier to open new areas to offshore drilling. Today, the President ordered Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to report on how to reduce the risk of oil spills from offshore …

Continue reading “Gulf oil spill update”

CONTINUE READING

Join Our Mailing List

Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.

Join Our Mailing List

The Drain is a roundup of climate and environmental news from Legal Planet delivered to your Inbox once a week.

The Drain

TRENDING

The Arguments We Did and Didn’t Hear in Suncor v. Boulder

Oral arguments in the climate case before the Supreme Court gave hints to possible outcomes. But one of Boulder’s strong answers to the “tort suits are regulation” objection went unmade.

Why Does Chevron Want Karen Bass to Win Re-election?

The Drain is a roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.

Permitting Wars

Environmental groups should engage constructively with permitting reform

How to Deconstruct Federal Regulation

Section 1401 of the Permitting Reform Bill is a stealth repeal of a wide swath of federal regulatory law, not just environmental law

Improving permitting reform

Suggestions to make the permitting reform bill work better and avoid unintended results

NEPA Remedies Revisited

Guest contributor Justin Pidot writes that the permitting bill known as BAAJA would end judicial review of most NEPA claims — but it sure is hard to figure that out.

A Major Problem with “Permit Certainty”

The permit certainty provision in the permitting reform bill appears to (inadvertently) change the basic standard for enforcement of most federal law

These 3 Numbers Explain Earth System Interventions in 2026

Concerns about passing 1.5C and ‘global dimming’ are driving attention to the prospect of large-scale interventions in Earth systems.

Our Information Ecosystem is Toxic. But We Can Clean It Up

The Drain is a roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.

Unpacking the Senate Permitting Reform Bill: NEPA

NEPA provisions are substantial in their changes, but (mostly) leave the core of the Act in place