Recorded Briefing—Supreme Court Argument Preview: Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado

Media Briefing

Panelists:
Mario Loyola, Professor, Florida International University and Senior Fellow, Heritage Foundation
Christopher D. Thomas, Partner, Perkins Coie LLP
Chad Whiteman, Vice President, Environment and Regulatory Affairs, Global Energy Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Description:
On Tuesday, December 10, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the scope of environmental impacts federal agencies must study under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The decision could bring needed clarity to agencies’ NEPA duties or augment a tool frequently used to oppose energy and infrastructure projects. Our panelists will present an overview of the case, discuss what to expect from the argument, and place the case into the larger context of the changing environmental regulatory landscape and a time of unprecedented public and private investment.

Speakers' Biographies

Mario Loyloa

Mario is a research assistant professor at Florida International University and director of its Environmental Finance and Risk Management Program in the Institute of Environment. He teaches administrative and environmental law at the College of Law. Mario also is a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He is a former associate director for regulatory reform at the White House Council on Environmental Quality and has also served at the Pentagon and in the U.S. Senate. Mario is counsel of record on an amicus brief for a group of law professors supporting the Petitioner in "Seven Counties Infrastructure Coalition."

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Christopher D. Thomas

Chris is a partner in the Phoenix, AZ office of Perkins Coie LLP. He focuses on complex infrastructure permitting, natural resource and hazardous substance litigation, enforcement defense, and site remediation. Chris is an elected fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and a frequent writer and speaker on environmental and natural resource law topics. He and three Perkins Coie colleagues represent a coalition of mining and exploration organizations on an amicus brief supporting the Petitioner in "Seven Counties Infrastructure Coalition."

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Chad Whiteman

Chad is Vice President, Environment and Regulatory Affairs, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Energy Institute. Before joining the Chamber, Chris was deputy chief of the Natural Resources and Environment Branch in the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. He also previously served at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency developing and implementing Clean Air Act policies.

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