Fred Wagner was recently interviewed by Inside EPA. The following is an excerpt:
Fred Wagner, a NEPA specialist at Venable, says Trump’s early directives on NEPA, as well as the pending court decisions, involve multiple moving, intertwined elements that will likely muddle the president’s efforts to speed reviews.
In a Jan. 23 letter, the Justice Department suggested that given the revocation of the Carter-era order, which was part of the basis for the Biden administration’s en banc petition, the court “may wish to await the conclusion of our evaluation before disposing of the pending rehearing petitions.”
As such, the order is already playing a role in the D.C. Circuit case, which Wagner says could drive additional uncertainties. “Do the parties have to go back to the D.C. Circuit and ask to brief the authority under NEPA” and address, “what do we do if that’s in theory revoked?” He also says the Carter EO was issued 48 years ago, and it is “not altogether clear” if there is “a way to review something that’s been undone” in the way Trump rescinded it.
For the full article, click here.