The Nickel Report

On April 18, 2025, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) identified ten critical mineral projects as FAST-41 Transparency Projects on the Federal Permitting Dashboard (the Projects). Inclusion on the Dashboard is intended to streamline approvals for qualifying projects by enhancing interagency coordination to facilitate a more efficient permitting process with increased transparency.

On April 15, 2025, President Trump took two additional actions building on previous initiatives focused on streamlining and supporting domestic mining and mineral production, including the Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production executive order issued on March 20, 2025 (the Mining Order) and the Unleashing American Energy executive order from January 20, 2025.

The 2,000 page Federal Acquisition Regulation (the “FAR”) has guided and dictated federal procurement for more than forty years.  Periodically, the FAR has been updated to make procurement more efficient and simpler. The Trump administration is now undertaking its own effort with the rollout of an executive order entitled “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement.”  It goes without saying that significant changes to the FAR will impact how federal contractors and their subcontractors do business with the federal government.

The scope of the prohibition of “take” under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA or the Act) – and specifically whether the prohibition includes the incidental (unintentional) take of migratory birds – is an issue that has been hotly debated for years. As we reported previously, the federal circuit courts do not agree on the issue, and the federal government’s position has changed several times in recent years, depending on the political party in control of the Executive Branch. The Trump administration amended the government’s position again on April 11, 2025, when the Acting Solicitor for the US Department of the Interior issued a one-page legal opinion (or “M-Opinion”) repealing opinion M-37065, which was issued during the Biden administration and specified that the MBTA prohibits both intentional and incidental take of migratory birds, and restoring opinion M-37050, which was issued during the first Trump administration and specifies that only intentional take of migratory birds is prohibited.

On April 8, President Donald Trump issued a series of orders and a proclamation (collectively the “orders”) intended to revitalize US coal production and the industrial use of coal, including for power generation. Among them was an Executive Order on “Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Electric Grid”[1]  directing the Secretary of Energy to take a series of steps intended to enhance electric grid reliability and security.

On April 8, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry and Amending Executive Order 14241, which builds on the March 20 Executive Order titled Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production (Executive Order 14241) and complements two other executive orders issued on April 8 focused on strengthening the US electric grid and protecting American energy from state overreach. The coal order provides for immediate action to remove restrictions on coal leasing, mining, and exporting and outlines initiatives to extend coal-power infrastructure and support coal technologies. This order is part of the administration’s holistic strategy to promote coal production in order to support domestic job creation, provide reliable energy supply for resurgent electricity demand from emerging technologies, lower energy costs, capitalize on vast US coal reserves, and facilitate coal exports. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) (jointly, “the Agencies”) recently issued guidance addressing implementation of the definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS). The guidance specifically provides direction on the proper implementation of “continuous surface connection” as it relates to adjacent wetlands.

On March 20, the firm lost a beloved colleague, Henry V. Nickel. Henry joined what was then Hunton & Williams in June 1976. An enormously gifted lawyer, Henry became the foundation on which Hunton’s environmental law practice flourished. 

On March 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production identifying immediate actions to boost the production of critical minerals within the United States. This executive order builds on the Unleashing American Energy executive order issued on January 20, 2025, which emphasized, among other things, a priority to establish the United States’ position as the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including rare earth minerals. This executive order outlines concrete steps to facilitate domestic mineral production and processing as part of a broader strategy to enhance national security, reduce reliance on foreign mineral supplies, reduce regulatory barriers, and promote domestic job creation and industry.

On March 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order calling for immediate measures to increase American mineral production. The order outlines several initiatives to streamline permitting processes and prioritize domestic mineral production projects.