A former US Department of the Interior and American Wind Energy Association lawyer, Lauren draws on her diverse experience to navigate clients through complex permitting and compliance issues that arise under a host of federal environmental statutes and regulations. She also advocates for clients during related administrative rulemakings and litigation.

Lauren has extensive experience with permitting and litigation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Mineral Leasing Act (MLA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) and Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). She also has significant experience representing clients on Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and hazardous waste matters.

She has represented energy industry coalitions on various regulatory and administrative matters before the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Lauren has deep experience drafting comments on administrative rulemakings, advising clients on policy and regulatory clarifications and negotiating proposed legislative bills as well as with federal permitting and litigation. She also has advocated on behalf of energy clients regarding carbon policies and the repeal and replacement of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.

As an Attorney-Advisor for DOI’s Office of the Solicitor, Lauren worked with BLM, FWS and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) on rulemakings, administrative actions and litigation that impacted the oil and gas and coal industries. That experience includes working on the oil and gas venting and flaring rules, the coal leasing moratorium and its associated programmatic environmental impact statement, and instruction memoranda implementing the agencies’ regulations. Along with assisting with DOI regulation implementation, Lauren also worked with BLM and DOJ on the environmental review and associated litigation for high-profile coal leasing matters throughout the country and counseled agencies on matters concerning the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), CERCLA, OCSLA, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Bankruptcy code.

Relevant Experience

• Advocated for renewable industry clients on revisions to ESA and state wildlife bills.
• Worked with DOI on establishing low-risk permits for eagles and low-risk Habitat Conservation Plans on behalf of a large energy association.
• Prepared comments on behalf of renewable industry clients on important policy developments under ESA and NEPA, including proposed revisions to the Council of Environmental Quality’s NEPA implementing regulations.
• Prepared comments for BOEM on behalf of renewable industry clients advocating for Wind Energy Areas on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
• Prepared comments for FERC on various regional transmission and market design issues on behalf of renewable industry clients.

Government Experience

• Served 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.
• Served as lead DOI counsel on the coal leasing moratorium, the associated programmatic environmental impact statement, and corresponding litigation.
• Advised BLM on high-profile oil and gas and coal leasing matters throughout the country, which included rulemakings, internal guidance, environmental reviews, leasing decisions, royalty reductions, and bonding.
• Advised BLM on right-of-ways, easements, and special use permits associated with oil and gas and coal leases.
• Advised BLM on the administration’s policy directions for various onshore natural resource extraction matters.
• Represented BLM in oil and gas and coal leasing decisions appealed to the Interior Board of Land Appeals and worked with DOJ to represent BLM in the associated federal litigation.
• Worked with the BLM and the Forest Service on oil and gas and coal leases that crossed multiple federal jurisdictions, which included joint environmental reviews and decisions.
• Advised BLM on National Historical Preservation Act consultations for oil and gas and coal leasing decisions.
• Advised BLM and FWS on ESA consultations for oil and gas and coal leasing decisions.
• Advised the BIA on oil and gas and coal leasing and realty (right-of-ways, easements, and special use permits) matters on tribal lands.
• Represented the BLM and the BIA in coal bankruptcy proceedings.
• Advised BLM on CERCLA matters on federal lands and worked with DOJ to represent BLM in associated federal litigation.
• Coordinated with DOJ to represent all DOI bureaus in FOIA litigation.
• Represented the National Park Service (NPS) in land disputes and advised NPS on matters concerning the Wilderness Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, Pace University, magna cum laude, Editor-in-Chief, Pace Environmental Law Review, 2013BA, Smith College, 2009

• October 2020 Nickel Report Post Summary

  By Lauren Bachtel, John R. Bobka |November 2020

• EPA Focuses on Potential Emissions from 3D Printing

  By Lauren Bachtel |December 2019

• Sitting Still (or How State Anti-Idling Laws Are Landing Transit and Transportation Companies in Federal Court), Pratt’s Energy Law Report
• How Court Ruling, DOE Guidance Change DeVos’ Title IX Rule, Law360
• Renewable Energy 2020, The Global Trend of Offshore Wind Energy, Getting the Deal Through
• A Decarbonized Economy: Risks and Opportunities, Mining the Land, Mining the Sea, Vol. 34, No. 2