A district court granted the state of Utah's and an oil and gas company's motions to dismiss a challenge to four leasing decisions made from 2018 through 2019, under which BLM issued 145 oil and gas leases on public lands throughout eastern Utah. An environmental group argued BLM violated NEPA and t...
Four myths are distorting the national debate over permit reform. First, it is misconceived as a singular issue, with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) at its center. Second, reformers assume that federal reviews and permitting cause most project delays and failures. Third, there is a widespread belief that environmental laws are routinely weaponized against new infrastructure through obstructive litigation. Fourth, critics assert that environmental procedures and standards must be sacrificed to enable timely climate action.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part two district court rulings in lawsuits concerning policies governing oil and gas lease sales conducted by BLM on protected sage-grouse habitat. Environmental groups filed suit in Idaho and Montana, challenging certain sales conducted under guid...
The D.C. Circuit vacated the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA's) 2020 rule authorizing the transportation of liquefied natural gas by rail in newly designed tank cars without a permit. Environmental groups, several states, and an Indian tribe petitioned for review, arg...