On April 17, 2026, staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) released a draft revised Section 9.0 of its Security Program for Hydropower Guidance addressing cybersecurity for hydropower projects. FERC staff explains that the revisions are intended to modernize the existing guidance to reflect technological advancements, lessons learned from inspections and audits, and evolving practices for protecting cyber and control-system assets. Comments on the draft are due Monday, May 18, 2026.
One-Track Mind: Unanimous SCOTUS Decision on Rail Line Approval Further Narrows Scope of NEPA
On May 29, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado that dramatically changes the way courts scrutinize federal agencies’ environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for a five-justice conservative majority (with Justice Neil Gorsuch abstaining), held that (a) courts must afford federal agencies “substantial judicial deference” regarding both the scope and contents of their environmental analyses; and (b) courts do not need to consider the effects of the action to the extent they are “separate in time or place” from the proposed project. The ruling gives federal agencies permission to greatly streamline their NEPA analyses at a time when those agencies are rapidly being drained of their resources and facing increasing pressure to expedite lengthy permitting processes.
To Waive or Not to Waive? That Is the 401 Question
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on May 16, 2025, clarified the conditions under which a state waives its Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certification (WQC) authority. In Village of Morrisville v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the D.C. Circuit rejected arguments by a hydropower licensee that Vermont waived its certification authority under Section 401 by failing to issue a WQC within one year from receipt of a certification request. The applicant unilaterally withdrew and refiled its WQC application twice in an effort to avoid unfavorable certification conditions. Because the applicant withdrew its WQC application to further its own interests, the court held that the applicant could not claim that Vermont waived its Section 401 conditioning authority by not issuing a WQC within a year from the original application.