Lisa A. Gilbreath

  • August 15, 2023

DOE Issues Proposed Rules to Accelerate Permitting and Enable More Rapid Deployment of Interstate Transmission Projects

Clean Energy, Permitting, Regulatory, Renewable Energy, Siting
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On August 10, 2023, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“NOPR”) proposing to establish an integrated Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations and Permits Program (“CITAP Program”) that provides an expedient approval process for qualifying interstate transmission projects. Triggered by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA,” also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”) and the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”), the CITAP Program intends to relieve capacity constraints and congestion on the nation’s electric transmission grid by:

  • Improving the existing Integrated Interagency Pre-application Process (“IIP Process”) to identify the relevant necessary permits at the earliest opportunity;
  • Setting a two-year deadline for Federal entities to issue decisions and permits authorizing electric transmission projects after the publication of a Notice of Intent (“NOI”) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”);
  • Simplifying the administrative record by incorporating the IIP Process administrative file into a single docket that contains all
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  • April 15, 2022

Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes to Reclassify Northern Long-eared Bat as Endangered

Clean Energy, Construction, Permitting, Regulatory, Renewable Energy, Siting, Wind Power
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is proposing to change the classification of the northern long-eared bat (NLEB) from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Reclassifying the NLEB will have major implications for development projects throughout the U.S., particularly in wind energy development.

The FWS classifies a species as threatened when the species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future in all or a portion of its range. A species is endangered when it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

Due to the fungal disease white-nose syndrome, the NLEB has experienced a steep decline in population across its 37-state range, which includes Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. In 2015, the FWS classified the NLEB as threatened due to the decline in population, and issued an ESA Section 4(d) rule allowing an incidental “take” of NLEB subject to certain conditions.

In 2020, under court order, the

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