The New NEPA Basics

This session reviews the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act’s amendments to NEPA, focusing on the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) expanded role and the implications for agency rulemaking.

Credit(s)

1.2

Duration

64 minutes

This session will examine the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act amendments and their impact on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process. Speakers will discuss the evolving role of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in implementing these reforms, as well as the current status of categorical exclusions and agency rules that reference CEQ regulations. The session will provide practical insights into how these developments affect project permitting, environmental reviews, and interagency coordination.

Speakers

Credits

Materials

1.2 CLE Credits

This course has been accredited for CLE credit in Colorado. CLE credit hours shown are for Colorado only. A CLE course number for Colorado will be provided to attendees on their certificates of attendance once a course has been completed. New Mexico attorneys who complete a course must notify us (cle@rmmlf.org) because we are required to report credits for you. If this course has been approved for RPL/CPL credit with the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL), the credits will be listed below in a separate section for AAPL. If applicable, Component Codes for AAPL recertification will also be provided. Please contact RMMLF if you need independent verification by the provider of your attendance or participation for CLE purposes. Except as provided above, RMMLF generally does not apply for accreditation from any other MCLE/CPD organizations for its online legal education program. Upon completion of a program a certificate of attendance will be issued to all attendees. Except as provided above, attendees must verify with their respective state bars and CPD organizations and their specific rules as to whether or not the certificate of attendance will be recognized by that body for MCLE/CPD purposes, and the number of CLE/CPD credits that may be available. The live presentation of the on-demand program has been accredited in most mandatory states as part of a larger course, but such accreditation does not assure recognition of the on-demand program.

JOCELYN D’AMBROSIO is serving as Principal Deputy General Counsel at the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) within the Executive Office of the President. Ms. D’Ambrosio joined CEQ from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of General Counsel in St. Petersburg, Florida. Prior to joining the government, Ms. D’Ambrosio was a senior associate at a leading environmental nonprofit law firm and a litigation associate at an international law firm, both in New York. Ms. D’Ambrosio’s practice has spanned many areas of environmental law, from the National Environmental Policy Act to the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Ms. D’Ambrosio earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.A. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania.

DAN FARBER is the Sho Sato Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He also has leadership roles at two Berkeley research centers: the Center for Law, Energy, and Environment; and the Edley Center on Law and Democracy. Professor Farber is a member of the American Academy of Arts. He is the author of over two hundred law review articles and twenty-three books. Professor Farber is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where he earned his B.A., M.A., and J.D. degrees. He graduated, summa cum laude, from the College of Law, where he was the class valedictorian and served as editor-in-chief of the University of Illinois Law Review. After law school, he was a law clerk for Judge Philip W. Tone of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and then for Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Farber practiced law with Sidley & Austin, where he primarily worked on energy issues, before returning to the University of Illinois as a faculty member in 1978. He taught at the University of Minnesota Law School faculty from 1981 to 2002, where he was the McKnight Presidential Professor of Public Law. He also has been a visiting professor at the Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and the University of Chicago Law School.

SEAN MCBRIDE is the General Counsel at AES Clean Energy, one of the largest renewable energy companies in the country. As General Counsel, Mr. McBride oversees all legal matters related to the development, financing, construction, and operations of AES Clean Energy’s large portfolio of wind, solar and battery storage projects. Through his 17 years in the clean energy sector, Mr. McBride has supported the construction of more than 10 GW of renewable energy projects and managed over $2 billion in financing transactions. Mr. McBride began his career at the law firm of Ballard Spahr supporting large infrastructure projects through the firm’s public finance group. He received a BA in Economics from Brigham Young University and his law degree from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University where he graduated summa cum laude.

MICHAEL R. MCCARTHY serves as General Counsel, North America, for Barrick Mining Corporation, where his practice involves all facets of Barrick’s North American operations. At Barrick and previously in private practice, his mining practice involves transactions and contracting, environmental matters and permitting, and addressing land and water issues and diligence. Mr. McCarthy has represented natural resource clients in federal court as well as before the London Metal Exchange. Mr. McCarthy’s experience prior to law school as a mining engineer provides insight for his legal work.