Project Development & Permitting Practice
Issue Alerts
Federal District Court Declares Washington Tribes’ Treaty Fishing Right Requires the State of Washington to Refrain from Building or Operating Culverts that Block Fish Passage
Matthew Love, Ivy Anderson, Tyson KadeAugust 29, 2007
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a summary judgment order declaring that the Western Washington Tribes’ treaty right of taking fish imposes a duty upon the State of Washington to refrain from building or maintaining any culverts that block anadromous fish migration.
Ninth Circuit Adopts Justice Kennedy’s “Significant Nexus” Test As Described in Rapanos
Sheri Spang, Steve RichardsonAugust 27, 2007
On August 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court holding that activities involving a pond located adjacent to a navigable water of the United States, but with typically no surface connection, are subject to the Clean Water Act.
EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Issue Joint Guidance on Wetlands Jurisdiction
Sheri Spang, Steven RichardsonJune 7, 2007
On June 5th, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersissued joint wetlands guidance to their field offices to identify those waters over which the agencies will assert jurisdiction under § 404 of the Clean Water Act.
DOE and Interior Publish Notice of Intent to Prepare Programmatic EIS on Designating Energy Corridors on Federal Land in 11 Western States
Steve Richardson, Sam Kalen, Kay HenrySeptember 30, 2005
A notice of Intent was published by the U.S. Departments of Energy and the Interiorannouncing a series of actions to implement Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, directing the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy and the Interior to designate corridors for oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines and electric transmission and distribution facilities on federal lands under their control in 11 Western states.
BLM Publishes Final Rule Governing Rights-of-Way Public and Federal Lands
Kay Henry, Steve Richardson, Brendan ShaneMay 6, 2005
The final rule revises the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management's cost recovery policies for both processing and monitoring of right-of-way grants; revises procedures for issuing right-of-way grants; and significantly increases fees that had been unchanged since August 1987.
Articles
Colorado River Management Plan Update
Jonathan SimonThe Grand Canyon River Runner
May 2008
On January 11, 2008, nearly a month and a half after the federal district court in Arizona wholly rejected their challenge to the new Colorado River Management Plan issued by the National Park Service (NPS) in February 2006, the plaintiffs in that lawsuit appealed that court's ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. While the NPS and other stakeholders hoped that the court's decision would provide a basis for the agency to move forward and work with all user groups in continuing to implement the new plan, the appeal ensures that the underlying issues will remain mired in controversy before the courts for some time to come.
Colorado River Management Plan Update
Colorado River Management PlanJonathan Simon
The Grand Canyon River Runner
November 1, 2007
In February 2006, the NPS issued a new CRMP that revised and updated the previous river management plan developed in 1980 and revised in 1981 and 1989.