For federal agencies, the primary law that drives public involvement for federal projects with regard to environmental issues is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. NEPA requires federal agencies to prepare an environmental…
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NEPA Administrative Records vs. Project Records: What’s the Difference?
A key component of the NEPA process, especially if litigation is anticipated, is to ensure that there is a comprehensive record of the federal agency’s decision-making process. This is called the Administrative Record. But what…
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Scout Prime Contract Wins: How To Access Us
1. GSA Contract Holder We’re excited to announce that Scout is a prime contract holder under the GSA contract and can now be accessed directly through our GSA contract! What is a GSA Contract? The…
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The California Hazardous Waste Violations Scoring Procedure… A New Trend?
Well, as we all know, California tends to be on the leading edge of implementing environmental regulations (and you may argue that it’s not all good or bad), but I just read about this new…
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EPA to Revise the Definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) and What You Need to Know
The Clean Water Act is back in the news with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent announcement of its intent to repeal and replace the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule (“2020 Rule”) that was discussed…
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Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes: The Status of Potential NEPA Regulation Updates and What They Mean for NEPA Practitioners
Turn and face the strange! Welcome back for another scintillating blog on one of our favorite subjects: the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)! As we have chronicled in past blogs, in 2020 the Council on…
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Clean Water Act Jurisdiction in 2021 – The 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule, “Send lawyers, guns, and money…” –Warren Zevon
As those who work with Clean Water Act 404 permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) know, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (2020 Rule) made “significant” changes to federal jurisdiction of “waters of…
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Simple Tips to Help Make Your CEQA Writing Process Easier
In our December blog I introduced the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and discussed what projects it may apply to. Coordinating and writing CEQA documents such as a Negative Declaration or an Environmental Impact Report…
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Extreme Winter Storms in Texas and Renewable Energy Fail? What You Should Know About Offshore Wind Energy.
With recent extreme weather events in Texas, some are questioning the reliability of alternate energy while others are questioning traditional oil and gas sources of energy. What seems clear is a growing need to have…
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President Biden’s Environmental Executive Order on Inauguration Day…What does it mean for you?
On January 20, 2021, hours after President Biden took the oath of office, he acted swiftly in signing 17 Executive Orders, one of which focused on tackling environmental issues: “Executive Order on Protecting Public Health…
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