US FWS Releases Draft Midwest Wind Energy Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan

By Latham & Watkins on June 21, 2016 Posted in Energy regulatory, Environmental and approvals

By Sara Orr, Daniel Brunton, Marc Campopiano and Andrea Hogan On April 15, 2016, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued its Draft Midwest Wind Energy Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) proposing a regional approach to Endangered Species Act (ESA) compliance process in response to the growth of … Continue Reading

Proposed Rule from US Department of the Interior Increases Pressure on Coal Mining Industry

By Latham & Watkins on July 30, 2015 Posted in Energy regulatory

By Paul Singarella, Claudia O’Brien, Marc Campopiano Daniel Brunton, Joshua Bledsoe, Lucas Quass, John Heintz, Joshua Marnitz and John Morris On July 27, 2015, the US Department of the Interior, through its Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), proposed to revise regulations adopted under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Holds that the BLM’s Grant of a Right-of-Way for a Road Over Federal Land Does Not Trigger Consultation Under the ESA or an Environmental Impact Statement Under NEPA for a Wind Project with Independent Utility

By Latham & Watkins on July 2, 2015 Posted in Environmental and approvals

By Christopher Garrett & Daniel Brunton On May 27, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the US Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) grant of a right-of-way over federal land for a road (the Road Project) for a wind energy project developed by North Sky River Energy, LLC (North Sky) on … Continue Reading