NEPA
Weighing the permitting reform bill
A summary of what I think the main changes to enviro law are, and the risks of uncertainty in how it is applied
Based on the manager’s amendment, and assessing the bill as it stands, here is my key summary of what I think the major components of Titles I through IV do overall: Eliminate supplemental NEPA based on new information (though it is retained for changes in projects). Narrow alternatives to be considered under NEPA where there …
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CONTINUE READINGThe revised permitting reform bill
Amendments announced over the weekend address some key issues, but leave others unresolved
The manager’s amendments for BAAJA – the changes to the bill that the primary drafters support – came out Saturday morning. Given the short time frame (the first procedural vote is tomorrow morning), this will have to be a quick overview of those changes and their implications. I’ll cover the extent to which those changes …
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CONTINUE READINGPodesta Is Right
Permitting reform bill asymmetrically makes it easier to grant permits than revoke them. That could have sweeping consequences.
At the end of the last week, these comments from John Podesta, a major Democratic Party policy operative, got some attention. He called the permitting reform bill a “loaded howitzer” in the hands of President Trump, should it be enacted as it is currently written. In particular, Podesta argued that the permitting certainty provisions would …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat’s Left of NEPA?
It’s already taken three major blows. Yet opponents seem to fear it as much as ever.
In effect, NEPA has been poisoned, bludgeoned, and stabbed in succession by the three branches of government. You would think that NEPA reform might seem less urgent after all that. Yet permit reformer still seem to think it’s as dangerous as ever, like a vampire that can only be killed by a wooden stake through the heart at midnight.
CONTINUE READINGGolf. Trump. Lies. And NEPA.
What more could you ask for in a single court opinion?
In a Monday ruling, Judge Reyes told the government to stop work on Trump’s plan to demolish a D.C. public golf course and replace it with one for pro tournaments. There are intriguing legal issues: whether a President’s social media posts can establish the basis for judicial review; whether golfers have standing to sue to preserve an existing course; how to deal with apparent dishonesty by government lawyers; and last but not last, whether the Supreme Court has eliminated NEPA’s segmentation doctrine. All in a beautifully written district court opinion.
CONTINUE READINGAddressing fire in the National Forests
Reforming National Forest management to improve fire resilience
I wrote earlier about an article I co-authored with Dave Owen on reforming wildfire law. In particular, we identified changes to federal land management, federal air quality law, land-use law, and insurance law to address the interlocking legal and policy challenges wildfire presents. But the scope of our piece necessarily meant limiting the level of …
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CONTINUE READINGProcedure Versus Substance
Drawing a false dichotomy between procedure and substance does not lead to good policy
“If I let you write the substance and you let me write the procedure, I’ll screw you every time.” Former US Rep. Dingell In the prior post I criticized some of the positions of environmental groups in the debates over the Senate permitting reform bill. But advocates of the bill have also made problematic arguments. …
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CONTINUE READINGPermitting Wars
Environmental groups should engage constructively with permitting reform
The permitting reform bill now being considered in the Senate has provoked fairly vicious fights between “abundance” advocates and at least some environmental groups. I think that there are valid critiques of many of the arguments that each side is making, and I think unpacking those critiques can be helpful in trying to find a …
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CONTINUE READINGImproving permitting reform
Suggestions to make the permitting reform bill work better and avoid unintended results
I’ve written a bunch about the Senate’s permitting reform bill. My basic takeaway is that I want this bill to pass, but that there are some serious flaws in the bill, particularly in the permit certainty provisions, that must be addressed. And in general, there are areas where greater clarity about the scope of the …
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CONTINUE READINGNEPA 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.
Guest contributor Justin Pidot is co-director of the environmental law program at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. Eric Biber’s recent posts have done a terrific job providing an overview of many of the Senate permitting bill’s provisions. I want to revisit the issue of NEPA remedies he discussed here, …
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