As expected, the Biden administration will invoke the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to delay the effective date of the Trump administration’s proposal to exempt incidental take from liability under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The Trump administration rule would have taken effect on 8 February 2021; the Biden administration delay will extend the effective date until 8 March 2021. The new Federal Register notice, to be published on 9 February 2021, will request further public comments to inform the Biden administration’s review of the rule while at the same time clearly signaling its [...]

On 14 January 2020, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a proposal intended to make it easier to develop renewable energy projects on BLM-administered lands in Southern California. The renewable energy industry should take the time to show the Biden administration why this is one Trump-era regulatory shift that should be carried forward if climate change reduction is indeed a priority. The proposal seeks in part to address long-standing renewable energy industry concerns that BLM took far too many acres off the table when it adopted the 10-million-acre Desert Renewable Conservation Plan (DRECP) [...]