For Law360 Article, Stacey Mitchell and Kenneth Markowitz Discuss Environmental and Energy Law Developments of 2017

Law360 has published the article “A Look Back At 2017’s Enviro And Energy Law Developments,” written by Stacey Mitchell and Kenneth Markowitz, partner and consultant, respectively, in the environment and natural resources practice at Akin Gump. The article was written in order to “review the key steps taken to achieve [President] Trump’s campaign goals, assess the impacts of the administration’s actions, and postulate on what may be coming next.”

Mitchell and Markowitz begin with a discussion of President Trump’s actions to make good “on many energy and environment campaign promises in 2017 through executive orders, presidential memoranda and other similar authorities.” This included withdrawing from the Climate Action Plan, lifting the moratorium on coal leasing on public lands and reducing the size of two national monuments.

The article then looks at some of the actions taken by Congress and the EPA, including either delaying or repealing the Clean Power Plan, the Clean Water Rule and the Risk Management Plan. Finally, Mitchell and Markowitz also note the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord unless the United States can renegotiate its terms.

The authors conclude by observing that there can be “little doubt that this administration has a vastly different blueprint for U.S. energy and environmental policy than any of its recent predecessors, and that it has set in motion actions to achieve its goals.”

To read the full article, please click here.