A district court denied a commercial fisherman's motion to preliminarily enjoin the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA from enforcing a 2023 rule that revised the definition of "waters of the United States." The fisherman argued the agencies did not faithfully implement the Sackett v. Environmental Pro...

A district court granted in part and denied in part an outdoor recreation group's motion to preliminarily enjoin the National Park Service's (NPS') regulations governing commercial filming on public lands. The group argued the regulations' land use fee and permitting requirements violated the First ...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's permanent injunction in an ESA citizen suit concerning a proposed timber harvesting project on private property in Oregon. Environmental groups argued the project would cause a "take" of marbled murrelets in violation of the ESA by clearing acres of tree...

The Sixth Circuit reversed a district court ruling in a lawsuit concerning the Line 5 Pipeline that runs underwater across the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsulas. Michigan's attorney general (AG) initially sued the pipeline owner in state court, seeking to enjoin con...

In an unpublished per curiam judgment, the D.C. Circuit affirmed summary judgment for NMFS in a challenge to the Service's 2019 rule regarding turtle excluder devices. Environmental groups argued the final rule was not adequately explained, that it was not a logical outgrowth of the proposed rule th...

The D.C. Circuit, 2-1, affirmed summary judgment for BLM in a challenge to the agency's 2003 final rule withdrawing a proposed rule that would have limited the maximum size of "mill sites" for mining claims on federal lands and instead codifying the agency's historical understanding that the governi...

The D.C. Circuit denied petitions to review FERC's approval of a project that would expand service on a natural gas pipeline running from western Pennsylvania to the New York metropolitan area. A nonprofit group argued FERC's EIS failed to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from upstream drilli...

The U.S. Supreme Court, 5-4, denied two states' motion to enter into a consent decree in a lawsuit concerning a 1938 interstate agreement that apportions the waters of the Rio Grande River among Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Texas initially sued Colorado and New Mexico, arguing excessive groundwa...

The U.S. Supreme Court, 6-3, held the Seventh Amendment entitled an investment advisor to a jury trial in an enforcement action initiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking civil penalties for securities fraud. The SEC adjudicated the matter administratively, and determined the ...

The U.S. Supreme Court, 5-4, granted three states' and several industry groups' applications to stay enforcement of EPA's 2023 rule issuing a federal implementation plan (FIP) for 23 states whose SIPs the Agency determined had failed to adequately address new air quality standards for ozone levels u...