Northwest Land Matters - Developments in Real Estate, Land Use, Environmental & Water Law in the Pacific NW

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages approximately 264 million acres of Federal lands around the country, has issued two draft documents in support of BLM’s recent push to expedite permitting of utility-scale solar power projects in six Southwestern states. 

One of the documents is a set of standard design criteria for solar projects, which BLM expects to incorporate into a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the solar initiative.  The design criteria, which would apply to all future solar projects covered by the programmatic EIS, address a number of project elements including siting, construction, operations and maintenance, and decommissioning. 

Along with these design criteria, BLM issued a draft framework for a plan to monitor the ongoing environmental impacts of solar projects and adjust land management practices accordingly.  Among other things, the framework provides for the BLM to pilot-test solar project monitoring and adaptive management techniques in one or more BLM-designated “Solar Energy Zones” (SEZs). 

The Department of the Interior (DOI) has proposed to extend the duration of Endangered Species Act (ESA) “take” permits allowing for non-purposeful disturbance or harm to golden and bald eagles.  If finalized, the rule would extend the term of such permits to thirty years, on the grounds that long-term authorizations are necessary for the financing of renewable energy, transmission, and similar projects.  DOI’s current regulations, issued in 2009, allow energy projects to obtain an eagle take permit for a period of five years if the take is unavoidable and the project has undertaken stringent conservation measures.  DOI will take comments on the proposal until July 12. 

On the final day of the Washington State 2012 Special Session, 2ESSB 6406 was passed by the House and Senate and is on its way to the Governor’s desk.  In a session light on land use issues, some have called this bill the most significant land use bill of the session.  

The bill was able to survive this tough session in part because it introduced new fees and raises existing fees for certain natural resource approvals.  Some specific features of the bill are listed below.   

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We are pleased to announce the launch of our Federal Funding Resource Center – www.vnf.com/funding – an online information tool designed to inform our clients and friends about key energy-, environment-, and resource-related federal funding opportunities across a range of federal agencies including the Departments of Energy, Defense, Agriculture, and the Interior. The Federal Funding Resource Center, which is updated daily, compiles active federal funding opportunity announcements in one place for ease of review. The Federal Funding Resource Center also includes a Primer on the federal funding process.

In addition, our Government Relations team will send weekly funding updates via email every Tuesday to those who are interested in receiving them. To subscribe to our weekly funding email update, please e-mail vnf@vnf.com.

We hope you find the Federal Funding Resource Center useful and we welcome your suggestions for how it could be enhanced. Van Ness Feldman has helped clients secure nearly $3 billion in federal funding for projects in recent years. The firm’s lawyers and policy professionals are experienced in every step of the funding process, including developing and implementing strategies for securing funding from both Congress and federal agencies, assisting with funding applications, negotiating funding agreements and managing ongoing reporting and compliance requirements. For more information on the firm’s capabilities in this area, please contact Shannon Angielski or any other member of the firm’s Federal Funding Practice at 202.298.1800.

Congressmen David McKinley (R-WV) and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced H.R. 4230, the “Home Owner Managing Energy Savings Act” (HOMES Act).  H.R. 4230 would provide rebates to homeowners who invest in energy efficiency improvements.  Under the bill, a homeowner who achieves 20 percent energy savings will receive a $2,000 rebate and for every 5 percent in additional energy savings, the homeowner would receive up to an additional $1,000.  The rebates would be capped at $10,000 or 50 percent of the cost of the project.  According to the sponsors of H.R. 4230, the bill has the support of over 40 key business, environmental, labor and nonprofit groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Natural Resources Defense Council, Efficiency First, the Alliance to Save Energy, Council of the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association and Residential Energy Services Network.