Lauren Bachtel

As a member of our U.S. Energy and Infrastructure group and a former U.S. Department of the Interior and American Wind Energy Association lawyer, Lauren Bachtel assists clients with navigating complex environmental permitting and compliance issues across all types of projects and transactions.  Lauren has extensive experience with permitting, compliance and litigation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Water Act (CWA), Clean Air Act (CAA), Mineral Leasing Act (MLA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).  

Lauren represents energy industry coalitions and individual clients on various regulatory and administrative matters before the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Forest Service (FS), and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Lauren has deep experience in permitting and compliance matters for project development and financing purposes as well as drafting comments on administrative rulemakings, advising clients on policy and regulatory clarifications, negotiating proposed legislative bills and federal litigation.

Lauren assists clients with establishing and complying with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies and programs, environmental justice policies and programs, and broad climate and carbon policies and programs. 

Work highlights

• Renewable Energy Sponsors: advising federal and state statutes, regulations and policies for U.S. offshore wind competitive auctions, leases and development.

• Offshore wind clients: assisting with preparing OREC applications and proposals for state solicitations. Also assisting with preparing survey, site assessment and construction and operation plans and obtaining the necessary environmental permits and authorizations to carry out such activities.

• Renewable Energy Investors: advising on environmental permitting and wildlife risks and requirements for onshore energy projects, including solar, wind and carbon capture and sequestration projects.

• Project developers: assisting with identifying and obtaining all necessary environmental permits and authorizations for energy and industrial projects.

• CCUS sponsors: assisting with preparing Class VI permit applications for carbon sequestration projects.

• Industrial project sponsors: advising on environmental permitting and compliance risks for industrial projects.

• Renewable industry clients: preparing comments on important policy developments under NEPA, including revisions to the Council of Environmental Quality’s NEPA implementation regulations. Also preparing comments for BOEM advocating for Wind Energy Areas on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

• Multiple clients: assisting on a range of matters, including:
  - revisions to federal (ESA, MBTA and BGEPA) and state wildlife regulations
  - establishing ESG policies and programs and creating tracking and reporting systems
  - creating environmental justice policies, implementing the policies with regard to existing and future projects and establishing the internal                 governance for such policies
  - conducting ESG and environmental permitting and compliance due diligence and reviewing and revising transactional documents to minimize       ESG and environmental permitting and compliance risks.

• Multiple clients and trade associations: assisting with tracking environmental and permitting federal and state statutory and regulatory changes, advising on potential implications, and drafting public comments to help shape such changes. Also assisting with collaborating with federal and state agencies to help shape applicable laws and policies.

• Trade associations: conducting ESG and environmental permitting and compliance webinars and trainings to help members to informed on recent federal or state changes.

Activities

• Member, LGBTQ+ Bar Association
• Chair, American Bar Association’s SEER Diversity & Inclusion Committee
• Member, American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (SEER), Leadership Development Program, 2020

Experience

• Advising clients on federal and state statutes, regulations and policies for U.S. offshore wind competitive auctions, leases, and development.
• Assisting offshore wind clients with preparing OREC applications and proposals for state solicitations. 
• Assisting offshore wind clients with preparing survey, site assessment, and construction and operation plans, and obtaining the necessary environmental permits and authorizations to carry out such activities.
• Advising clients on environmental permitting and wildlife risks and requirements for onshore energy projects, including solar, wind, and carbon capture and sequestration projects.
• Assisting project developers with identifying and obtaining all necessary environmental permits and authorizations for energy and industrial projects.
• Assisting clients with preparing Class VI permit applications for carbon sequestration projects.
• Advising clients on environmental permitting and compliance risks for industrial projects. 
• Advocating for clients on revisions to federal (ESA, MBTA and BGEPA) and state wildlife regulations.
• Preparing comments on behalf of renewable industry clients on important policy developments under NEPA, including revisions to the Council of Environmental Quality’s NEPA implementing regulations.
• Preparing comments for BOEM on behalf of renewable industry clients advocating for Wind Energy Areas on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
• Assisting clients with establishing ESG policies and programs and creating tracking and reporting systems. 
• Assisting clients with creating environmental justice policies, implementing the policies with regard to existing and future projects, and establishing the internal governance for such policies.  
• Elia Group SA/NV: advising on its acquisition, through Elia Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary WindGrid USA LLC, of a 35.1% stake in energyRe Giga Projects, a subsidiary of energyRe LLC, the proceeds of which will be used to fund renewable U.S. transmission and energy generation projects.

Government Experience

• Bureau of Land Management (BLM): advising on high-profile oil and gas and coal leasing matters throughout the country, which include rulemakings, internal guidance, environmental reviews, leasing decisions, royalty reductions and bonding.
• BLM: advising on a range of issues, including:
  - right of ways, easements and special use permits for associated energy leases
  - the administration’s policy directions for various onshore natural resource extraction matters
  - appealing oil and gas and coal leasing decisions to the Interior Board of Land Appeals and worked with DOJ to represent BLM in the associated    federal litigation
  - National Historical Preservation Act consultations for leasing decisions
  - CERCLA matters on federal lands and worked with DOJ to represent BLM in associated federal litigation.
• BLM and the Forest Service: advising on oil and gas and coal leases that crossed multiple federal jurisdictions, which included joint environmental reviews and decisions.
• BLM and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS): advising on Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultations for leasing decisions.
• Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): advising on leasing and realty (right of ways, easements and special use permits) matters on tribal lands. > BLM and the BIA: representing in bankruptcy proceedings.
• Department of the Interior (DOI): serving as lead DOI counsel on the coal leasing moratorium, the associated programmatic environmental impact statement and corresponding litigation.
• Department of Justice (DOJ): coordinating with the DOJ to represent all DOI bureaus in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation.
• National Park Service (NPS): advising in land disputes and on matters concerning the Wilderness Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
• A client: serving as DOI counsel on the 2016 BLM Waste Prevention Rule, the compliance date postponement, the Suspension Rule, the revised Waste Prevention Rule and all corresponding litigation.

Lauren received a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Pace University School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Pace Environmental Law Review. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College. 

Lauren is Recommended for Environment: Litigation by the Legal 500 United States, 2021.

Articles 

• “U.S. Offshore Wind Development: 2022 Year in Review and Looking Ahead,” Newsletter, February 07, 2023.
• “Reclassification of the Northern Long-Eared Bat May Impact Project Development,” Legal Update, February 03, 2023.
• “U.S. BOEM Proposes Modernized Offshore Wind Regulations,” Legal Update, January 17, 2023.
• “U.S. BOEM Announces Provisional Winners of California Offshore Wind Auction,” Legal Update, December 08, 2022.
• “U.S. BOEM Announces 8 Proposed Areas for OSW in the Central Atlantic,” Legal Update, November 17, 2022.
• “U.S. BOEM Finalizes Offshore Wind Energy Areas in Gulf of Mexico,” November 01, 2022.
• “U.S. BOEM Announces First Offshore Wind Auction Off California,” Legal Update, October 19, 2022.
• “U.S. BOEM Issues Final Environmental Review for Offshore Wind Area Off Central California,” Legal Update, October 06, 2022.
• “Pratt’s Energy Law Report,” LexisNexis, October 2022.
• “CCUS: Texas Takes Steps Toward Class VI Primacy,” Legal Update, September 13, 2022.
• “Offshore Wind and the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act,” Legal Update, August 19, 2022.
• “California Increases Offshore Wind Development Goals,” Legal Update, August 04, 2022.
• “Biden Administration Takes Action to Accelerate Offshore Wind in Gulf of Mexico and Southeast,” Legal Update, July 21, 2022.
• “Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage: U.S. Federal Guidance for Carbon Storage on Public Lands,” Legal Update, June 30, 2022.
• “U.S. Gulf of Mexico Offshore Wind — Louisiana and Federal Updates,” Legal Update, June 23, 2022.
• “Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage: Class VI Wells and U.S. State Primacy,” Legal Update, June 09, 2022.
• “Biden Administration Proposes First-Ever California Offshore Wind Lease Sale,” Legal Update, May 27, 2022.
• “California Sets Aggressive Offshore Wind Target,” Legal Update, May 11, 2022.
• “U.S. BOEM Announces Provisional Winners of North Carolina Offshore Wind Auction,” Legal Update, May 11, 2022.
• “U.S. BOEM Issues Final Environmental Review for Offshore Wind Area Off Northern California,” Legal Update, May 06, 2022.
• “U.S. Offshore Wind — Financing Considerations and Development Challenges,” Article, May 05, 2022.
• “U.S. BOEM Issues Calls for Information and Nominations for Offshore Wind Areas in Central Atlantic and Offshore Oregon,” Legal Update, April 28, 2022.
• “Carbon Capture Sequestration Utilization and Storage Projects and U.S. Federal Environmental Laws,” Legal Update, April 22, 2022.
• “U.S. offshore wind challenges,” PFI, April 2022.
• “U.S. BOEM Announces North Carolina Offshore Wind Auction,” Legal Update, March 28, 2022.
• “Offshore Wind Interconnection Process and Cost Considerations,” Bloomberg Law, March 21, 2022.
• “New Jersey Delays Its Next Offshore Wind Solicitation for Transmission Planning,” Legal Update, March 07, 2022.
• “U.S. BOEM Announces Provisional Winners of Massive Offshore Wind Auction,” Legal Update, February 25, 2022.
• “U.S. Offshore Wind Development: 2021 Year in Review and Looking Ahead,” Newsletter, February 17, 2022.
• “Louisiana Proposes 5 GW of Offshore Wind for Gulf of Mexico,” In Brief, February 08, 2022.
• “U.S. BOEM Announces Massive Offshore Wind Auction and Much More,” Legal Update, January 14, 2022.
• “NY Announces $500 Million Offshore Wind Investment and 2022 Procurement,” In Brief, January 07, 2022.
• “The Law off the Land: Why Offshore Wind Developers, Utilities and Investors Should Give Early Consideration to Environmental Law Risks,” North American Clean Energy, January 2022.
• “MD and MA Award 3.2 GW of New Offshore Wind Capacity,” In Brief, 2021.
• “Interior Department: Area Offshore Central California Officially Designated for Offshore Wind Energy Development,” In Brief, November 16, 2021.
• “Interior Department: Three Milestones for Offshore Wind Energy Development in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico,” Legal Update, October 29, 2021.
• “Navigating Environmental Justice Issues in Federal Permitting,” ABA SEER Fall 2021 Newsletter, Fall 2021.

News

• “NPM Interconnections — Episode 36: J. Paul Forrester & Lauren Bachtel,” New Project Media, June 02, 2022.