The U.S. Department of Energy proposed to amend its National Environmental Policy Act procedures on November 16, 2023, to include a new categorical exclusion for certain energy storage systems and to expand its categorical exclusions for certain transmission lines and solar photovoltaic systems.

Ted Boling and Kerensa Gimre wrote an article for the Center for American Progress on how the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) process of environmental review is crucial to the success of infrastructure projects. It details five clean energy infrastructure examples that span a range of recent projects nationwide and demonstrate best practices for improving infrastructure projects.

The Council on Environmental Quality has proposed further amendments to its National Environmental Policy Act implementing regulations as part of its phased rulemaking initiated in 2021.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s decision in Maine Lobstermen’s Association v. State of Maine Dep’t of Marine Resources, 2023 WL 4036598 (D.C. Cir. June 16, 2023), stands as a warning that courts may show greater skepticism to statutory interpretations by agencies that reflect policy rather than empirical judgments (at least where they are not acknowledged as such).

The Fiscal Responsibility Act, colloquially known as the Debt Ceiling Bill, was signed into law by President Joe Biden over the weekend and contains several amendments to the National Environmental Policy Act. These are the most substantive amendments to NEPA since the statute was enacted more than 50 years ago.

In January 2021, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (the Permitting Council) issued a final rule, adding mining as a sector of projects covered by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (FAST-41).

On May 10, 2023, the Biden administration announced its support for permitting reforms contained in Joe Senator Manchin’s Building American Energy Security Act of 2023. The administration also announced its support for the inclusion of eleven priorities in any bipartisan permitting reform package, including accelerated deployment of critical electrical transmission, improved permitting efficiency and predictability, and robust community engagement.

All Member States of the United Nations Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction reached an agreement on March 4, 2023, regarding an international treaty governing the sustainable use and conservation of the “high seas”—areas of the ocean that lie beyond any single nation’s jurisdiction. The treaty represents a culmination of nearly two decades of negotiations and meetings. It is a crucial step toward achieving the recent UN 30x30 Agreement to protect 30% of the planet’s lands and oceans by 2030.

The Council on Environmental Quality published guidance on how to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions and climate change under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced on December 5, 2022, that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will develop an updated Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to help guide solar energy development on public lands throughout the West.

On December 6–7, 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held its third offshore wind lease sale this year—and the first of its kind for floating wind—bringing in $757.1 million from five lease areas off the central and north coasts of California.

The Biden-Harris administration launched Version 1.0 of its Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool on November 22, 2022.

As the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has ramped up offshore wind development to meet the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of generating 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, the expansion of offshore wind energy could affect the North Atlantic right whale.

Partner Ted Boling authored “NEPA Means Better Agency Decisions” published in the The Environmental Forum regarding the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its regime for environmental impact assessment and framework for a transparent, evidence-based public process for agency decisions.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued its Final Sale Notice (FSN) on October 18, 2022, for the first offshore wind energy leases on the west coast of the United States.

The $437 billion Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law on August 16, 2022, by President Biden, makes historic investments in clean energy. The IRA allocates $369 billion toward energy security, carbon emissions reduction, and climate resilience.

Laura Morton and Ted Boling contributed a book chapter titled “Building the Plane While We’re Flying It – Should We Reform the Offshore Wind Leasing and Permitting Process During Liftoff for a New Industry?” to 68th Annual Institute Proceedings.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management published its notice of intent on Friday, July 15, 2022, to prepare a programmatic environmental review to analyze the potential impacts of wind energy development activities in the New York Bight—offshore New York and New Jersey.

Partner Ted Boling co-authored “Transforming Institutions to Connect Land and Water for Healthy Communities” published in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWR).

As leaders gather for the first in-person celebration of Capitol Hill Ocean Week in two years, we have a proposal for how to bridge the chasm between America’s offshore wind energy ambition and current capacity.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management published its Proposed Sale Notice on May 31, 2022, for what would be the first ever offshore wind energy leases on the west coast of the United States.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held its second offshore wind lease sale of 2022 off the East Coast on May 11, bringing in $315 million from two lease areas in the Carolina Long Bay.

Ocean Conservancy and Perkins Coie partnered to outline actionable recommendations that, if implemented, would significantly increase the effectiveness, efficiency, and regulatory certainty of U.S. offshore wind.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released its final sale notice (FSN) for two lease areas totaling 110,091 acres in the Carolina Long Bay Area on March 25, 2022.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which President Biden is expected to sign into law, contains some important changes to the federal environmental review process for surface transportation projects.

The Council on Environmental Quality has proposed amendments to its 2020 NEPA implementing regulations, adopted during the waning days of the Trump administration.

Title VIII of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), the infrastructure bill recently passed by the U.S. Senate, includes several important amendments to Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, or FAST-41, which have the potential to significantly reform the federal environmental review and permitting process for covered infrastructure projects.

The secretary of the interior issued two Secretarial Orders on April 16, 2021, that provide early indications of the Biden administration’s approach to the environmental review process for infrastructure projects under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Nearly five years after it was established, the Federal Permit Improvement Steering Council has proposed adding the mining sector to the list of infrastructure sectors covered by Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, or FAST-41.

The Federal Permit Improvement Steering Council on November 27, 2020, proposed to add mining to the list of infrastructure sectors that are covered by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41).

The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed comprehensive changes to update its procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act in response to the Council on Environmental Quality’s July 16, 2020, overhaul of the regulations implementing NEPA.

The U.S. Forest Service has released narrowly tailored changes to update its procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act, in the wake of the Council on Environmental Quality’s recent overhaul of the NEPA regulations.

Ted Boling co-presented “Best Practices for NEPA Implementation in a Dynamic Regulatory Environment” at the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Ted Boling  presented “NEPA beyond 50: EIA for Renewable Infrastructure Investment” to the International Association for Impact Assessment Conference.

Matt Rojas and Ted Boling participated in a panel entitled “The Future of NEPA—the Status and Future of New NEPA Rules” on a recent ABA-sponsored webinar.

This presentation discussed the major issues in the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) 2020 final rule updating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing regulations, the CEQ process to "consider suspending, revising, or rescinding," the 2020 rule under Executive Order 13990, and recommendations on which provisions from the 2020 rule should be retained or modified.