The FAST Act Seeks to Expedite Multi-Agency NEPA Compliance for Large Infrastructure Projects
…FAST Act further limits claims under NEPA to those by parties who submitted comments during the environmental review period, where the commenter filed a sufficiently detailed comment so as to…
The Corps’ NWP 12 for Pipelines and Transmission Lines is Vacated and Enjoined
…contact Joan Drake at jdrake@modrall.com, Walter Stern at western@modrall.com, Stuart Butzier at sbutzier@modrall.com, Christina Sheehan at ccs@modrall.com, and Sarah Stevenson at sarah.stevenson@modrall.com. [1] NWPs are intended to be used…
Indian Water Rights Settlements – Issues for Consideration From a State and Water User Perspective
…difficult to settle the complex claims inherent in any Indian water rights settlement. To complicate matters, on the federal end as well as contributing to the uncertainty as to what…
New Mexico Supreme Court Validates Designation of Mt. Taylor as a Traditional Cultural Property
Introduction: In a case that may have national significance, the New Mexico Supreme Court upheld the New Mexico Cultural Properties Review Committee’s (“Committee”) permanent designation of approximately 400,000 acres of…
Comments Sought on Proposed Indian Oil Valuation Amendments
…announced a proposed rulemaking for oil royalty calculations on Indian Tribal and Allotted leases. See Indian Oil Valuation Amendments (Proposed Rule), 70 Fed. Reg. 35102, available at https://www.onrr.gov. Comments pertaining…
New Mexico’s 2020 Statewide Water Quality Management Plan and Continuing Planning Process Approved by EPA
…National Security (Los Alamos National Labs). The comments were reviewed, summarized, and SWQB provided responses to the comments on May 20, 2020, available here. Most of the comments were directed…
Back to the Future: What is a Water of the United States?
…that the determination of a significant nexus can be complex and there are differences between regions of the United States that compel detailed site-based evaluations. The preamble to the Rule…
Guidance for New Mexico Employers: Misclassification of Independent Contractors
…to minimum wage, potential overtime compensation, family and medical leave, unemployment and worker’s compensation coverage. Historically, the classification of workers as either employees or independent contractors was done generally by…