On Nov. 18, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the enforcement of California’s SB 261, which had an initial compliance deadline of Jan. 1, 2026. The same day, the California Air Resource Board (CARB) issued updated guidance concerning its rule-making efforts for both SB
On Nov. 21, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released four proposed rules to revise its Endangered Species Act (ESA) implementing regulations, all of which would apply only prospectively. 90 Fed. Reg. 52587, 52592, 52600, 52607. FWS crafted two of the proposed rules jointly with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the agency
This article was republished in the December 2025 edition of E-Outlook, the Environmental & Natural Resources Section of the Oregon State Bar’s newsletter.
This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) proposed revisions to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations that, if finalized,
On Oct. 28, 2025, Mexico’s Head of the Executive Power, Claudia Sheinbaum, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) the Decree establishing administrative facilities for the regularization of concession and assignment titles granted to users of national waters. In line with the National Water Plan 2024-2030, the Decree aims to establish a procedure
Over the past decade, the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) has shifted repeatedly, creating uncertainty for permitting and project planning. Building on the Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA decision, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (together, the agencies) announced a proposal this week to further refine which water features
On Nov. 21, 2025, the Board of Directors of the New York Independent System Operator, Inc. (NYISO), as anticipated, approved the 2025-2034 Comprehensive Reliability Plan (CRP). This blog post highlights two aspects of the CRP that may have significant repercussions related to future electric generation and transmission planning and development. The first relates to
On November 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) announced a proposed rule (PR) to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) by excluding several types of waters from the definition of WOTUS in their respective regulations (40 C.F.R. § 120.2 and 33
We know our clients have been following California’s climate-disclosure laws closely – including the timing of effectiveness and the various legal challenges. This update relates to a new Ninth Circuit ruling that has effectively hit “pause” on one key pillar of California’s climate-disclosure package.
On November 18, 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court granted a partial
As we approach the end of the month and the Thanksgiving holiday, without a new published CEQA precedent (yet, anyway) to write about, I thought I’d put together a brief “news roundup” of recent items that could be of interest to readers.
In a rare occurrence, two appellate courts have recently weighed in on natural resources damages (NRD) claims, providing fresh insights into this evolving area of law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit’s October decision in United States v. Ernst Jacob GmbH & Co. under the Oil Pollution Act, alongside a September Ninth