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Environmental Law Monitor

Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.

Category: NEPA

American Flag and Florida Flag between Palm Trees
• Florida, NEPA

U.S. District Court Orders Immediate Closure of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Aug. 21 ordered the federal government to refrain from sending additional detainees to the detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” and to begin transferring detainees to other facilities within 60 days.   The court further ordered that once all detainees are transferred, the facility must be dismantled, including the removal of all fencing, lighting, and generators. The court sided with tribal … Continued

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American Flag and Florida Flag between Palm Trees
• NEPA

Environmental Groups Halt Construction of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on Aug. 7 issued a temporary restraining order to pause construction on the controversial detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” for two weeks pending argument on the underlying preliminary injunction action. Plaintiffs – which include the environmental non-profit groups, Friends of the Everglades, Inc. and the Center for Biological Diversity … Continued

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Spring meadow and blue sky over grass field, countryside landscape
• NEPA, Regulations

Agencies Take Major Federal Action Significantly Affecting NEPA’s Future

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) applies to a major federal action that significantly affects the quality of the human environment. On June 30, several federal agencies took their own federal action which will likely have significant impacts in how NEPA is implemented in the future. In particular, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of … Continued

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Freight train on the railroad at sunrise. Aerial view
• NEPA

Supreme Court Cuts Down ‘Judicial Oak’ of NEPA; Energy and Infrastructure Developments Projected to Increase

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that agencies preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the guidance of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) need only to consider the environmental effects of the “project at hand” and not those that are “separate in time and place.”  The 8-0 decision handed down May 29 in Seven Cnty. … Continued

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Majestic giants in Sequoia National Park in California, USA
• NEPA, Regulations

Navigating NEPA in the New Year

On January 31 — in Marin Audubon Society et al. v. FAA et al. — the D.C. Circuit Court declined petitions for en banc review of a panel’s November 2024 ruling that the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) does not have the legal authority to promulgate regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act … Continued

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Freight train on the railroad at sunrise. Aerial view
• NEPA

What’s Next For NEPA?

The U.S. Supreme Court last week scheduled oral arguments for December 10 in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, a highly anticipated case that focuses on whether a federal agency should be required to consider environmental effects that it does not have direct authority to regulate and that do not occur near the project … Continued

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Backhoe working in road construction site, with mountains and sky background.
• NEPA

Anticipating Significant Slowdowns in Public Projects, Twenty States Sue to Block Regulatory Changes to National Environmental Policy Act

As part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (the latest debt ceiling bill), Congress made the most significant revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) since its enactment in 1970. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has since made further changes to NEPA regulations, and those latest changes have been met with a legal challenge … Continued

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