Environmental Impact Review

55 posts

California Appellate Court Holds that Regional Planning Agency Must Examine the Long-Term Impacts of Its Transportation Plan on Reduction of Greenhouse Gases

By: Daniel P. Selmi* Visiting Scholar, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Fritz B. Burns Professor of Law, Loyola Law School In an emphatic opinion, a state appellate court has invalidated the environmental impact report for the first “sustainable communities strategy” prepared by a regional council of government in […]

FERC directs LNG facility applicant to disclose climate change impacts, as urged by Sabin Center

Jennifer M. Klein, Esq. Associate Director & Fellow The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) recently directed a company seeking to build a natural gas facility to submit information regarding potential climate change impacts on the facility. FERC’s instructions come after the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law (“SCCCL”) submitted letters […]

FERC should consider sea level rise when evaluating new natural gas facilities, Sabin Center urges

Jennifer M. Klein, Esq. Associate Director & Fellow Sea level rise and associated increases in flooding and storm surge should be considered in connection with two planned liquefied natural gas facilities proposed to be built on the coasts of Maine and Louisiana, according to letters submitted today by the Sabin […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Considers Sea Level Rise Data in Waste Storage Environmental Impact Statement

Jennifer M. Klein, Esq. Associate Director & Fellow The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently finalized a rule regarding the storage of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel at individual power plants beyond the duration of each plant’s operating license. The NRC’s Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for the rule addressed potential climate […]

Council on Environmental Quality Declares That Climate Change is Already Covered in Environmental Impact Review, and No New Regulations Needed

By Michael B. Gerrard The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), signed into law by President Richard Nixon on January 1, 1970, was the first U.S. environmental statute of the modern era. It requires the preparation of environmental impact statements (EISs) for major federal actions that may have a significant impact […]

Alaska District Court Considers “Reverse Environmental Impact” in Issuance of Section 404 Permit

By Ellii Cho, Summer Legal Intern The National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (NEPA) requires federal agencies to prepare environmental impact statements (EISs) for all “major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.”[1] This includes the issuance of federal permits. Even after an EIS is completed and […]

Environmental Impact Statements Addressing Resiliency and Adaptation

Ethan I. Strell, Associate Director & Fellow Columbia Center for Climate Change Law In a subtle but meaningful shift, the environmental impact review process in New York City is beginning to more systematically consider the potential effects of a changing climate on proposed projects, not just the effects that a […]