News & Insights

Every year, around St. Patrick’s Day, the ospreys complete their long journeys from South America and return to Cape Cod. We never tire of watching these magnificent “fishing eagles” hover in place in the wind over the water, fold their wings and dive – arising with fish in their talons with remarkable consistency. Deftly re-aligning the fish […]

May 1 was National Law Day – a day to celebrate the role that law and lawyers serve to protect legal rights and to defend the independent judicial system that keeps our democracy vibrant. Since 1958 when President Eisenhower first proclaimed it, bar associations and lawyers have usually marked the day quietly. This year’s celebration, however, had […]

Earlier this week, my colleagues Adam Kahn and Kevin Chen posted about the proposed rule issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service that would rescind the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act to exclude adverse impacts on habitat. As Adam and Kevin noted, FWS and NMFS rely […]

Comment period ends on May 19, 2025 On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a proposed rule to rescind the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This action would remove the current definitions of “harm” from both 50 CFR […]

The fifth delegation of ACOEL Fellows from the International Pro Bono Committee’s Cuba Working Group have participated in our latest project in Havana, a four-day event from March 24-27, 2025 developed and presented by ACOEL in conjunction with two Cuban foundations, with the participation and support of the Cuban Environment Agency. The meetings included the […]

Growing up in Irvington, NJ, near refineries, chemical plants, and other industrial facilities, I never imagined that one day I’d end up being an environmental lawyer, and in Austin, Texas. This year marks my 50th year practicing environmental law.  It’s a good time to reflect.  In 1967, I graduated from Brandeis University and worked that […]

ACOEL announced April 8 the election of 18 new fellows. Each new College member has a depth of experience in – and has made substantial contributions to – the field of environmental law. The new fellows come from private practice, academia, not-for-profit organizations, and the government.

On March 25, 2025, the University of Southern California’s (USC’s) Public Exchange and independent advisor Solar Aquagrid announced the California Solar Canal Initiative, a seven-university project to assess the technological, social, and legal capacities to install solar panels over the many water canals and aqueducts flowing through California. The project builds from a 2021 study conducted […]

10 Reasons Why This Case Is Squirrelly In Port Arthur Community Action Network (PACAN) v. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Supreme Court clarified the statutory definition of “Best Available Control Technology”(BACT) under the Texas Clean Air Act in response to a certified question from the Fifth Circuit. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that […]

I suspect that lots of people have said it, but President Obama is often credited with saying that elections have consequences. One of those consequences is that the President, generally speaking, gets to select who works for him. I’ve always taken the position that, no matter how much I disagree with the President, the Senate […]

I had not heard of Lee Zeldin before Donald Trump nominated him to become the next Administrator of the EPA. I was curious to know more about his views on major environmental issues, especially his views on climate change. I did not watch his Confirmation hearing, but I was able to find a transcript of […]

In 2015, EPA proposed a rule requiring states to develop plans to cut CO2 emissions from the power sector—the Clean Power Plan (“CPP”). EPA explained the rule would result in “significant emission reductions” for that sector, from about 2,650 million tons in 2005, to 1,900 million tons in 2022, and 1,800 million tons in 2030–a […]