Laura Boorman

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On April 5, 2017, the EPA responded to a request from industry stakeholders saying it will reconsider the Obama-era Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source Category rule (“ELG Rule”) that set the first federal limits on how much toxic metal can be discharged with power plants’ wastewater.  80 Fed. Reg. 67838 (Nov. 3, 2015).

On February 24, 2017, industry groups challenged the final Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule (“Final Rule”) in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  The long-anticipated Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on November 28, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 85732).  Pursuant to Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) section 7006, petitioners have ninety days from that date to challenge the rule in the D.C. Circuit.  Because the ninety-day deadline to challenge the rule expired on Monday, February 27, 2017, no more challenges may be filed.  A previous discussion of the Final Rule and its potential impacts can be found here.

On March 1, 2017, the Senate confirmed Ryan Zinke as Secretary of the Interior.  In grand fashion, Secretary Zinke arrived to his first day of work—at the invitation of the National Park Service (“NPS”) Park Police—riding an Irish sport horse.  As Secretary of the Interior, Zinke’s responsibilities will include overseeing the management of national lands, waters and resources through the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), the NPS, the Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”), the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and several other agencies.  Secretary Zinke is a former Navy SEAL and a former Republican Congressman from Montana.

Last week, a federal judge granted a 60-day stay in litigation over critical habitat designation and policy pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”).  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (the “Services”)—the agencies charged with carrying out such designations pursuant to the ESA—asked for the delay in order to allow incoming Trump Administration officials time to become familiar with the case.

In late December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together, “the Services”) issued the final revised joint Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook (HCP Handbook).  81 FR 93702.  The original HCP Handbook was issued in 1996 and later revised in 2000.  Most recently, the Services held a 60-day comment period on draft revisions to the Handbook in June 2016, during which 54 public comments were submitted.

On December 27, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS or the Service) issued the final Endangered Species Act (ESA) Compensatory Mitigation Policy (the Policy).  81 FR 95316.  The Policy is the first comprehensive treatment of compensatory mitigation under ESA authority to be issued by the FWS following previous piece-meal and disjointed policies.

On January 11, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published its final listing of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  A proposed listing of the bee was previously published in September 2016.  The decline in the species is due to a number of factors such as pathogens, pesticides, habitat loss and degradation, small population dynamics, and the effects of climate change.

On Wednesday, President-Elect Donald Trump’s transition team announced that Trump will name Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the next Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  In a statement that same day, the transition team quoted Pruitt as stating that he “intend[s] to run th[e] agency in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment and freedom for American businesses.”