Courts have applied Seven County to limit the scope of judicial review and give more deference to the government in NEPA cases.
By Devin O’Connor, Janice Schneider, Stacey VanBelleghem, and Lia Barrett
On May 29, 2025, the US Supreme Court decided Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County1 (see this Latham blog post) which narrowed the scope of environmental review required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Now, a year later, we have seen
A new executive order seeks to streamline funding for and construction of data center projects by reducing regulatory red tape.
By Nikki Buffa, Aron Potash, Tal Carmeli, and Shawna Strecker
On July 23, 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order titled “Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure” (the Order). The Order aims to “facilitate the rapid and efficient buildout” of data centers and associated infrastructure such as high‑voltage transmission lines and other equipment by “easing
The decision emphasizes the importance of judicial deference to agencies on NEPA and narrows the scope of environmental analyses.
By Nikki Buffa, Devin M. O’Connor, Jennifer K. Roy, Janice M. Schneider, Reilly Nelson, and Samantha Yeager
On May 29, 2025, the US Supreme Court issued a decision (Decision) in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, No. 23-975 (2025), significantly narrowing the scope of environmental reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act
The reform mainly focuses on streamlining and narrowing the scope of environmental review at the federal level.
By Janice Schneider, Nikki Buffa, Devin O’Connor, and Kevin Homrighausen
On June 3, 2023, President Biden signed legislation implementing the bipartisan debt ceiling and budget agreement as the “Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.” As part of this legislation, Congress agreed to several federal permitting reform measures, focused largely on amendments to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
NEPA requires federal agencies to consider the potential environmental impacts of discretionary major federal actions (e.g., including issuing permits and granting federal funding) before they are taken. As part of this analysis, agencies must evaluate alternatives to the proposed action and consider mitigation measures, and must provide an opportunity for public input. The scope and detail of NEPA review can affect the contours, timing, and ultimate outcome of federal decision-making and is frequently litigated by project opponents. The new amendments to NEPA in the Fiscal Responsibility Act draw substantially from other proposed legislation and regulatory amendments in recent years. These new provisions are designed to narrow the scope of federal actions that are subject to NEPA, consolidate NEPA review under a single “lead” agency, and impose time and page limits for environmental documents under NEPA, among other changes described below.
Biden Administration elevates consideration of GHG emissions and climate change in federal agency approvals by rescinding Trump guidance and reviving Obama guidance.
by Janice M. Schneider, Stacey L. VanBelleghem, and Devin M. O’Connor
On February 19, 2021, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published a Federal Register Notice rescinding the June 2019 “Draft National Environmental Policy Act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions” (2019 Draft GHG Guidance) issued by the Trump Administration. This action, directed by President Biden’s Executive Order 13990, “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis” (January 20 EO), reinstates Obama Administration policy and requires further review and updating on how greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the effects of climate change are considered in environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
By Kimberly D. Farbota, Jennifer K. Roy, and Christopher Garrett
CEQA Case Report: Understanding the Judicial Landscape for Development[i]
In an unpublished opinion issued August 28, 2018, Forest Preservation Society v. Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Case. No. SCUK-CVPT-15-66284, the California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s judgment and upheld the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (Cal Fire’s or Department’s) approval of a Timber Harvest Plan (THP 80) proposed by real party in interest Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC). Petitioner Forest Preservation Society (Petitioner) requested for writ of mandate, arguing that the Department:
The trial court rejected these arguments and denied the petition, and the Court of Appeal upheld the denial. In summary, the Court of Appeal determined:
Trump Administration is weighing potentially comprehensive overhaul to regulations governing federal environmental review to cut red tape and avoid excessive delay to process.
By Janice M. Schneider, Tommy P. Beaudreau, Jennifer K. Roy, Bobbi-Jo B. Dobush, and Diego Enrique Flores
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Advance Notice) in the Federal Register, requesting public comment on
potential updates to the National Environmental Policy Act’s (NEPA’s) implementing regulations intended to “ensure a more efficient, timely, and effective NEPA process[.]” The public comment period currently lasts 30 days, until July 20, 2018.
The CEQ NEPA regulations, which were first promulgated in 1978, have only been revised once (to eliminate the “worst case” analysis requirement) in 40 years. The Advance Notice was prompted by an executive order issued by President Trump on August 15, 2017, directing CEQ to enhance and modernize the federal environmental review and authorization process. Streamlining the environmental review process and cutting red tape has been a hallmark priority of the Trump Administration. CEQ subsequently identified reviewing NEPA regulations as a priority for complying with President Trump’s executive order — consistent with the Trump Administration’s many actions — including the recently issued “One Federal Decision” Memorandum of Agreement. In particular, the Department of Interior has issued Secretarial orders and policy memoranda aimed at, among other things, compressing the time and length for agency preparation of environmental impact statements and other NEPA reviews. The potentially sweeping changes to CEQ’s NEPA regulations, signaled by the Advance Notice, may prove to be the Trump Administration’s most consequential reforms of the federal environmental review process.
DRECP under review in an effort to alleviate burdens on energy development.
By Marc T. Campopiano, Joshua T. Bledsoe, Jennifer K. Roy, and James Erselius
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently issued a notice of intent to review the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) for potential burdens on domestic energy production in California. The BLM issued the notice on February 2, 2018, in response to Executive Order (EO) 13783, “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth.” EO 13783 was issued on March 28, 2017, and requires the heads of federal agencies to review all existing agency actions that “potentially burden the development or use of domestically produced energy resources.”
Finalized in 2016, the DRECP established a framework to streamline permitting for renewable energy projects on public lands in the California Mojave and Colorado/Sonoran desert region. The DRECP covers renewable energy development activities, including solar, wind, and geothermal projects, as well as transmission facilities that service renewable energy projects. As discussed in a previous post, concerns from local agencies, industry, and environmental groups caused state and federal agencies to narrow DRECP’s focus to public lands only.
The corresponding Land Use Plan Amendment (LUPA), issued when the DRECP was finalized, affects land use planning decisions for all of the 10.8 million acres of federal lands within the 22 million total acres covered under the DRECP. The LUPA set aside certain BLM-managed lands for conservation and recreation, and identified priority areas for renewable energy development. As detailed in a prior post, the approved LUPA designates 388,000 acres of Development Focus Areas, which are lands identified as having high-quality solar, wind, and geothermal energy potential and access to transmission. In addition to Development Focus Areas, the approved LUPA designates: 40,000 acres of Variance Process Lands for renewable energy development; approximately 6.5 million acres for conservation; approximately 3.6 million acres for recreation; and 419,000 acres of General Public Lands, which lack a specific land allocation or designation. A land use plan amendment is needed to develop renewable energy in General Public Lands areas.
By Janice Schneider, Joel Beauvais, Stacey VanBelleghem, Jennifer Roy, and Francesca Bochner
On March 19, 2017, 52 new or reissued nationwide permits (NWPs) for discharges into “waters of the United States,” issued pursuant to Section 404(e) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act went into effect. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) requires a Section 404 permit when development activities discharge dredged or fill materials into jurisdictional waters (i.e., “waters of the United States,” including wetlands). The NWPs – which are used to permit tens of thousands of new projects each year – cover a broad range of activities, including development of oil and gas pipelines, transmission and other utility lines, linear transportation projects, renewable energy, coal mining activities, and residential development. The Corps developed the NWPs as programmatic permits to expedite approval of specific types of activities deemed to have minimal environmental impacts. Seeking authorization under an NWP is less expensive and less time-consuming than obtaining an individual permit.
The prior NWPs were issued in March 2012 and expired on March 18, 2017. In the new NWPs, the Army Corps: (1) reissued all 50 of its existing NWPs, with revisions to twenty-seven; (2) issued two new permits; and (3) added one new general condition. The new NWPs include a grandfather provision that allows activities authorized under the 2012 NWPs that have commenced or are under contract to commence by March 18, 2017, to have until March 18, 2018, to complete the activity under the terms and conditions of the 2012 NWP. Activities that have not commenced by March 18, 2017, and/or will not be complete by March 18, 2018, must seek authorization under the new NWPs.