Administrative Law
U.S. Supreme Court Narrows Scope of Federal Agency Review Under NEPA
On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, reversing a D.C. Circuit ruling that vacated federal approval for the Uinta Basin Railway in Utah. The Court held that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) does not require federal agencies to evaluate the…
Trump Administration Rescinds CEQ’s NEPA Regulations and Issues Guidance to Agencies
On February 25, 2025, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published in the Federal Register an interim final rule proposing to rescind its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a 1969 statute that requires all federal agencies to consider the environmental effects of their projects or actions. A week earlier, CEQ…
Two Federal Cases Have Potential to Affect Implementation of NEPA
A recent decision by the D.C. Circuit and a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court have the potential to significantly affect implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of major actions. Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of…
NEPA Phase II Final Rule Goes into Effect, Bringing Climate Change and Environmental Justice to the Forefront
On July 1, 2024, the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) final rule implementing the revised National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Phase II regulations came into effect. This rule represents the culmination of the Biden Administration’s efforts to update and revise the Trump Administration’s 2020 modifications to NEPA. The Phase II rulemaking aimed to rearticulate key…
The Supreme Court Significantly Alters the Landscape for Reviewing and Challenging Federal Agency Action
Within a three-day period at the tail end of its term, the Supreme Court issued two decisions that significantly affect the federal administrative law landscape, and will necessarily influence environmental regulations and enforcement in years to come. Loper Bright Enterprises, et al. v. Raimondo, et al On June 28, 2024, in a decision authored by…
Biden Administration Proposes “Phase 2” Revisions to NEPA Regulations
On July 31, 2023, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for its second phase of revisions to the 2020 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) amendments. As a brief primer, NEPA imposes procedural requirements on all federal agencies to consider the effect of a project or action on the…