On July 16, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published its long-awaited final rule to amend its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), introducing important changes to the 40-year-old review process. The statute requires federal agencies to take a “hard look” at the environmental impacts of certain proposed projects, but does not mandate any particular outcome. The final rule follows CEQ’s June 2018 Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR) and the January 2020 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), which we previously discussed here.
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NEPA
Sixth Circuit: Spill Response Plans Do Not Trigger Endangered Species Act or NEPA Review
By Catherine D. Little, Annie M. Cook & Houston Shaner on
Two months ago, we issued a post regarding oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in National Wildlife Federation v. Secretary of the Department of Transportation. That case asked whether approval of pipeline spill response plans by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) triggered consultation and review processes under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In an opinion released on Friday, June 5, 2020, the Sixth Circuit answered that question in the negative. The court’s decision avoids adding another substantial burden to the review process for response plans, and, since it reaches the same result as the only other appellate court to consider the question, the decision likely will not attract the attention of the Supreme Court.
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D.C. Circuit Suggests FERC Should Try to Quantify Indirect Environmental Impacts of Pipeline Projects
By Viktoriia De Las Casas on
FERC’s consideration of indirect environmental impacts of the projects it certifies has been heavily debated as the concerns over climate change increase. Both the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Natural Gas Act (NGA) require that FERC consider how an interstate natural gas pipeline directly and indirectly affects the human environment. Although consideration of direct impacts may be a less controversial topic, FERC’s approach with respect to indirect impacts[1] has proven to be more complex. It is particularly relevant in light of the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ’s) June 2019 proposed guidance, directing how federal agencies should assess project-related greenhouse gas emissions, discussed in detail here and here. The guidance suggest that FERC should employ a “rule of reason” when considering impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and if FERC lacks adequate information about these emissions, it does not need to quantify them. This recommended approach, however, seems to conflict with how the D.C. Circuit interpreted FERC’s duty in analyzing greenhouse gas and other indirect emissions in its earlier June 2019 decision Birckhead v. FERC, USCA Case No. 18-1218 (D.C. Cir. 2019). …
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In an Unpublished Decision, D.C. Circuit Approves FERC Certificate for Mountain Valley Pipeline
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Certificate of Convenience and Public Necessity to the Mountain Valley pipeline project in 2017, authorizing new construction of a 300-mile natural gas pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia. Several environmental and citizen groups challenged the FERC decision in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Among many issues raised, the petitioners argued that FERC failed to properly consider downstream impacts on climate change resulting from the combustion of gas transported by the new pipeline, as required by the Court’s 2017 decision in Sierra Club v. FERC. On February 19, 2019, the D.C. Circuit issued a short (five page) decision in the Mountain Valley case, Appalachian Voices et al v. FERC . The decision summarily dismissed all sixteen of the petitioners’ challenges to FERC’s Order.
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Federal Agencies Agree to Speed Project Permitting
Posted in Construction and Design, Environmental, Legislation, Liquid, LNG, Natural Gas, NEPA, Oil, Policy, Uncategorized
The U.S. DOT and 10 other federal agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on April 9, 2018, which became effective on April 10, 2018. The MOU[1] is intended to implement Executive Order 13807 (Aug. 15, 2017), which established a “One Federal Decision” policy for infrastructure projects that require authorizations by multiple federal agencies.…
Executive Order Aims to Improve Environmental Review of Infrastructure Projects
On August 15, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) entitled “Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects.” As part of the Administration’s goal to improve domestic infrastructure, the purpose of the EO is to promote agency coordination, efficiency, and accountability with respect to environmental reviews of infrastructure projects.
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