Environmental Impact Review/Permitting
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…
NYSDEC Seeks Input on Regulations Implementing Major Expansion of State’s Freshwater Wetlands Jurisdiction
On January 3, 2024, NYSDEC announced an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making for potential revisions to its freshwater wetlands regulations, accompanied by a complete pre-proposal draft of revised 6 NYCRR Part 664 regulations. NYSDEC is accepting public comments on its draft regulations through February 20, 2024. Background: 2022 Statutory Changes to the Freshwater Wetlands…
NYSDEC Publishes Proposed Guidance Incorporating Environmental Justice Considerations into Existing Permit Processes
On September 27, 2023, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) published a draft policy aimed at implementing Section 7(3) of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which seeks to prevent disadvantaged communities from being disproportionately affected by greenhouse gas (GHG) or co-pollutant emissions. The draft policy lays out a procedure…
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…
Recent Debt Ceiling Legislation Includes Several Significant Changes to NEPA
On June 3, 2023, President Biden signed a legislative package lifting the federal debt ceiling that includes the first statutory amendments to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) since 1982. While the legislation modified certain aspects of NEPA practice, many of the changes codify (i.e., enact into a statute) existing regulations or executive orders, preventing…
Supreme Court Significantly Curtails Federal Jurisdiction over Wetlands in Sackett v. EPA
On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Sackett v. EPA, ruling that federal jurisdiction over wetlands under the Clean Water Act (CWA or the Act), which prohibits discharging pollutants into “the waters of the United States” (WOTUS), extends to only those wetlands with a continuous surface connection to WOTUS. The Sackett…