The D.C. Circuit denied a petition to review FERC's authorization of an owner's request to surrender its license for a hydroelectric project on the Salmon Falls River between New Hampshire and Maine. A conservation group initially requested rehearing of the authorization, arguing the two dams from t...

A district court denied an animal advocacy group's request to vacate and remand FWS' decisions approving a general conservation plan (GCP) and incidental take permits for the Utah prairie dog. The group argued the decision to approve the GCP was arbitrary and capricious because the plan will not ful...

In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Forest Service in a challenge to its decision to approve a herd management plan for wild horses in Ochoco National Forest. A group of conservationists argued the Service violated the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Ac...

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed a trial court ruling that declared the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) violated youths' state constitutional right to a "clean and healthful environment." The youths argued a provision of MEPA that precluded analysis of greenhouse gas emissions in EAs and E...

A district court granted the Maine Department of Marine Resources' motion to dismiss a challenge to its rule that compels federally licensed lobstermen to install a tracking device on their fishing vessels. The lobstermen challenged the rule under the Maine Administrative Procedure Act (MAPA) and on...

The First Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the U.S. government in a lawsuit concerning a plan to construct a large-scale commercial offshore wind energy facility off of Martha's Vineyard. Several entities associated with the commercial fishing industry challenged the approval process, asserting...

A district court granted summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to Wildlife Services' reauthorization of a predator damage and conflict management program in Montana under which grizzly bears may be killed. The groups argued the Services violated NEPA by failing to include critical...

A district court on remand permanently enjoined the Public Utility Commission of Texas from enforcing a 2019 state law that limited the ability to build, own, or operate new transmission lines to owners of existing transmission facilities in Texas, in areas of the state not covered by the main grid ...

The Tenth Circuit, 2-1, reversed a district court ruling in a challenge to the Forest Service's approval of a 2020 management plan amendment for the Thunder Basin National Grassland in northeastern Wyoming. Conservation groups had argued the amendment failed to comply with the ESA and NEPA. The dist...

The Hawaii Supreme Court held that greenhouse gases (GHGs) were "pollutants" under several insurance policies' pollution exclusions and that an "accident" included an insured's reckless conduct for purposes of a challenge against fossil fuel companies for climate change-related harms. The city and c...