Powder River Basin – The NEPA Lab

Privatizing the War on Coal

March 27, 2018 Jamison Colburn BLM, climate change, coal, judicial relief BLM, coal, Powder River Basin

Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Brian Morris halted a slew of coal leases in the so-called Powder River Basin (PRB) district of southern Montana and north-central Wyoming. See Western Org. of Resource Councils v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 2018 WL 1456624 (D. Mont.2018). PRB coal, for those in the know, is synonymous with […]

Applause for the Pause? A Moratorium Made Possible by NEPA

January 18, 2016 Jamison Colburn action agencies, climate change, coal coal leasing, coal moratorium, Department of Interior, Powder River Basin, risk

The big news out of western coal country is the Department of Interior’s announced review of its coal leasing program and consequent “moratorium” on new leases for coal mines on federal public lands. As most media reports have emphasized, 40% of the nation’s mined coal comes from federal lands and most of that comes from […]

5.22.18 E&E News reports that many see a long road ahead for any overhaul of 1978 rules.

5.16.18 McCabe, Giles pen sharp criticism of CEQ’s threatened overhaul of 1978 rules, anticipating partisan opportunism.

5.13.18 Conservation groups sue Dept. of Interior on announced plan to scrap Sage Grouse conservation plans, citing NEPA.

The preliminary injunction granted by a district court last month halting all work on the Bayou Bridge pipeline in the Atchafalaya Basin will be reviewed in a hearing before a 5th Circuit panel today.

E&E News calls the new MOU between 20 federal agencies on “One Federal Decision” a diversion and ‘nothing new to see here.’

Business Insider reports: 5G cell system roll-out to be sped up by new FCC rules limiting NEPA reviews.

Is the Trump Administration’s “One Federal Decision” proposal scapegoating NEPA in infrastructure proposal? The Atlantic digs in.

Inside Climate News reports: Trump administration unwilling to say if it will appeal PRB leasing set-back to the Ninth Circuit.

Prof. Bell’s careful analysis of a recent 10th Circuit case: The NEPA contractor’s documents and their being subject to a FOIA application’s reach.

EPA Adm’r Pruitt orders review of EPA’s role in permitting and EIS review: Pruitt Memo (March 2018)

Food & Water Watch to target government loans to CAFOs with NEPA suit?

NEPA violations at Fermi 3? Beyond Nuclear petitions SCOTUS.

CEQ still needs a chair. Here’s a list of the candidates.

Tag: Powder River Basin