This session will summarize the history and intent of the National Environmental Policy Act and how it interfaces with oil and gas development, and in particular, the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. It will include discussion on levels of NEPA analysis, how they are determined, and their respective requirements. Key litigation points associated with the NEPA process will be examined and strategies to complete NEPA in a timely manner while ensuring defensibility will be presented. A summary of recent changes will also be presented to set the stage for the second session where these changes will be discussion in detail. Session will end with a discussion of strategies to respond to these changes and a Q&A session.

This session will include detailed discussion on changes that have occurred in the NEPA process over the last three administrations, which have been greater than all the previous years that NEPA has been in force. The session will include a discussion on respective administration Executive Orders that have ramifications for NEPA, as well as in-depth discussion of the ramifications of the changes to NEPA itself resulting from the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.  We will discuss the current Trump administration executive orders declaring a national energy emergency and unleashing American energy and their impacts on subsequent regulatory changes, including the rescinding of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for the implementation of NEPA and the use of NEPA emergency procedures for infrastructure projects. We will also discuss executive orders regarding environmental justice and climate change and the ramifications for NEPA. Session will end with a discussion of strategies to best leverage these executive/regulatory changes and a Q&A session.

This session will review the recent court cases impacting NEPA process, including the Supreme Court’s recent decision for Seven Counties Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County and implications of this decision on the scope of NEPA analysis. Discussion will focus on implications for NEPA analysis for oil and gas permitting, particularly on split-estate lands and in Fee/Fee/Fed situations. Session will end with a discussion of strategies to respond to these court rulings and a Q&A session.