NEPA
Trump’s War Against NEPA
One of Trump’s Executive Orders Heralds a Revolution in NEPA Practice
What’s going on here is pretty obvious, It’s not “improving environmental rules.” No, the title of the subsection is “Unleashing Energy Dominance through Efficient Permitting.” Anything that gets in the way of fossil fuel development – which is what Trump means by energy dominance – is going to get steamrolled. Including the environment.
CONTINUE READINGCollecting useful data on NEPA
A 2024 study falls fall short in shedding light on the impacts of NEPA litigation
As I’ve recently posted, permitting reform is (appropriately) in the news right now. That means there’s also a reason for various think tanks, NGOs, academics, and others to release studies that might inform the policy debate. One such study from 2024 that has gotten some coverage on social media recently is a report by the …
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CONTINUE READINGA Way Forward?
Reducing the Number of Decisions Could Accelerate Fire Management
This is the third of a series of three posts on how to do more to reduce fire risks on federal lands. The first post is here, the second post is here. In addressing the increasing risks of wildfire, we certainly need to scale up the resources we apply to the problem, doing more prescribed …
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CONTINUE READINGFire and Permitting Reform
Addressing the difficult parts, regulation and litigation
This is the second of three posts on proposed legislation to address the fire crisis on federal lands (the first post is here). Last post, I talked about why this legislation is essential, and the strengths of the bill that the House passed last Congress. In this post, I’ll talk about the parts of the …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Urgent Need to Address Fire Risk
We need legislative action to accelerate fire risk reduction in general
The Manchin-Barrasso energy permitting bill that I’ve posted about is not the only permitting reform bill that died with the last Congress. The House had passed the “Fix Our Forests Act,” legislation sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Arkansas, with a focus on trying to reduce fire risks on federal (and other) lands. …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Fires in Los Angeles
Wildfire policy and the tragic fires in Southern California?
National attention is (rightly) focused on the terrible fire situation in Los Angeles. At the moment, the top priority is supporting first responders who are trying to control the fires, prevent more damage, and help the people who have lost homes and loved ones. There is (of course) a bunch of chatter on social media …
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CONTINUE READINGTowards Better Permitting Reform
What are we trying to achieve?
This is the third in a series of posts on permitting reform. The first post is here. The second post is here. How could we realistically achieve permitting reform that will advance climate and environmental goals? Answering that question requires recognizing the political realities of a sharply divided Congress and country. Any significant change to …
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CONTINUE READINGNEPA in the Supreme Court: The Seven Counties Oral Argument
Some arguments surfaced in the discussion that the Court would do well to ignore.
Several arguments popped up in the Supreme Court’s discussion of a major NEPA case that appealed to at least some of the Justices. We think that they would do well to rethink them. Each of the arguments distracts attention from what ought to be the key question: what impacts should the agency take into account in making its decision? We hope, when it comes time to draft opinions, the Justices will think through the arguments a little more fully and head in a different direction.
CONTINUE READINGNEPA in the Supreme Court — On the Eve of Oral Argument
Some thoughts about how the Court should define some limits on indirect effects.
Our paper on the proper scope of NEPA places heavy emphasis on foreseeability, but in an expanded version of the paper we consider some unusual situations where additional factors come into play. This additional analysis makes clear important limits on NEPA scope that we think address at least some of the concerns that have (appropriately) been raised about ever-expanding NEPA review and the risk that it will hamper efforts to develop needed infrastructure.
CONTINUE READINGNEPA and Loper Deference (Part II)
Guest contributor Justin Pidot outlines what losing CEQ’s NEPA authority means for interagency coordination and efficiency.
Dan provided a terrific overview of the legal issues involved in the D.C. Circuit’s recent decision holding that CEQ lacks authority to promulgate regulations and, therefore, that the regulations governing implementation of NEPA across the government for decades are ultra vires. I want to offer some additional observations focused on the potential practical implications. First, …
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