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So far Andrew Bell has created 42 blog entries.

Supreme Court Brings “Judicial Review Under NEPA Back in Line with the Statutory Text”

By |2025-06-02T14:53:41+00:00May 30th, 2025|Federal Lands, National Environmental Policy Act, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Wind Energy|

Despite all the press, the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 29, 2025, decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado (No. 23-975) actually does little to change NEPA, but developers of infrastructure projects will welcome the clarity it brings. The unanimous decision firmly roots itself in long-standing precedent to remind an often-confused federal judiciary that (i) agency decisions implementing NEPA must be accorded substantial deference; and (ii) NEPA review is limited to proximately caused effects such that the impacts of an agency action arising from a separate project do not have to be evaluated. [...]

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DOI Proposes Increase of Renewable Energy Rents and Fees on BLM Lands

By |2025-05-15T00:11:36+00:00May 14th, 2025|Federal Lands, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Wind Energy|

On May 14, 2025, the Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a press release signaling its intent to significantly increase annual rents and fees for renewable energy projects on federal lands by rescinding the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Renewable Energy Rule that took effect in July 2024. The recission also would remove certain elements of BLM’s application processing regulations and may reinstate the framework in place under BLM’s old regulations that had been in effect since 2017. The following assessment summarizes the current state of BLM’s renewable energy regulations and what could happen next, [...]

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Draft Bill Could Increase Fees for Wind and Solar Projects on Federal Lands

By |2025-05-09T00:04:47+00:00May 9th, 2025|Federal Lands, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Wind Energy|

On May 1, 2025, the House Natural Resources Committee released a draft budget reconciliation bill that, if enacted, could increase long-term costs for wind and solar energy projects on federal lands. The bill would replace the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) current capacity fee formula with a flat percentage of gross revenue, double acreage rent for wind projects, and eliminate BLM's discretion to lower charges. The bill is currently in draft form and has not been signed into law. As part of the budget reconciliation process – a legislative procedure that allows certain fiscal measures [...]

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Questions Remain Around BLM’s Renewable Energy Rents Rule

By |2025-04-01T15:29:45+00:00April 1st, 2025|Federal Lands, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Wind Energy|

Questions Remain Around BLM’s Renewable Energy Rents Rule The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) July 2024 Renewable Energy Rule reduces annual costs of operating wind and solar energy projects on federal lands, but its complexity makes it difficult for developers and financiers to forecast BLM charges and decide whether to opt in by July 1, 2026. The Renewable Energy Rule overhauls how the agency charges annual rents and capacity fees for renewable energy rights-of-way. Please refer to our article on the original rule for an overview of its major components. The rule generally lowers [...]

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BLM Finalizes Rule to Lower Annual Charges for Wind and Solar Projects

By |2024-04-18T16:27:11+00:00April 18th, 2024|Federal Lands, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Wind Energy|

On 11 April 2024 the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a prepublication copy of a final rule that will reduce annual rent and capacity fees for wind and solar energy rights-of-way (ROWs), allow noncompetitive leasing in Designated Leasing Areas (DLAs), modify BLM’s approach to prioritizing applications, and make other changes to the application process. The rule will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Rents and Capacity Fees The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 directs BLM to collect fair market value for use of public lands. Under [...]

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Finalizes Eagle Take General Permit Framework

By |2024-04-17T21:40:59+00:00February 12th, 2024|BGEPA and MBTA, Endangered Species, Wind Energy|

On 12 February 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published long-awaited revisions to its eagle take permitting regulations under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (the Act). The new rule allows qualifying projects such as wind energy facilities and transmission lines to rely on general eagle take permits rather than applying for project-specific, discretionary take authorization. The rule is meant to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of permitting while supporting conservation benefits for bald and golden eagles. The final rule carries forward many of the concepts proposed in the draft rule that [...]

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Waters of the U.S. Regulations Revised to Follow Supreme Court’s Sackett Decision

By |2024-04-17T21:41:03+00:00September 12th, 2023|Clean Water Act, Wetland and riparian permitting|

On 8 September 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) published a final rule revising the regulatory definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) in response to the Supreme Court’s May 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA. Consistent with Sackett, the rule eliminates the “significant nexus test” for all waters and clarifies that wetlands must have a continuous surface connection to WOTUS to qualify for federal Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction. The rule was not circulated for public notice and comment and became effective immediately [...]

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USFWS Proposes to Streamline Desert Tortoise Incidental Take

By |2024-04-17T21:41:08+00:00July 25th, 2023|Endangered Species, National Environmental Policy Act|

On 17 July 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a General Conservation Plan (GCP) for the federally threatened Mojave desert tortoise in California. The GCP would streamline the issuance of Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 10 Incidental Take Permits (ITPs) by eliminating the need for individual Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review of each ITP application, a process that can take up to two years. Instead, under the GCP, USFWS would issue ITPs for applications [...]

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BLM Proposes Permitting Revisions to Support Renewables

By |2024-04-17T21:41:13+00:00July 19th, 2023|Federal Lands, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy|

On 15 June 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a proposed rule that would partially rewrite the agency’s regulations pertaining to wind and solar energy development of federal public lands. Comments are due by 15 August 2023. The proposed rule would significantly reduce BLM’s annual charges for new and existing wind and solar rights-of-way (ROWs) by using different methodologies to calculate acreage rent and capacity fees and applying additional reductions; allow for noncompetitive leasing within designated leasing areas (DLAs); and make various other changes to the existing regulations that are generally favorable [...]

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California Protects Western Joshua Tree, Adopts Permitting Framework

By |2024-04-17T21:41:16+00:00June 29th, 2023|Endangered Species, Solar Energy|

On 27 June 2023, the California legislature passed the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, which California Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign into law in a matter of days. The western Joshua tree has been protected as a candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) since 2020, although the Fish and Game Commission (Commission) has repeatedly punted on whether to formally list the species as threatened or endangered. The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act formally prohibits the take of that species absent a permit. The Act also adopts a refreshingly straightforward permitting [...]

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