In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court ruling in a lawsuit over a logging project in Kootenai National Forest. Conservation groups sued the Forest Service and FWS, arguing the project's approval violated the ESA, NEPA, and the National For...
A district court denied environmental groups' motion to preliminarily enjoin a tornado recovery operations project in Hoosier National Forest. The groups argued the Forest Service improperly excluded the project from NEPA's research and reporting requirements and began implementing the project befor...
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a challenge to the U.S. Air Force's decision to engage in hazardous waste disposal through open burning/open detonation (OB/OD) operations at Tarague Beach on Guam. A nonprofit group argued the Air Force failed to comply with its environment...
A district court granted the state of Utah's and an oil and gas company's motions to dismiss a challenge to four leasing decisions made from 2018 through 2019, under which BLM issued 145 oil and gas leases on public lands throughout eastern Utah. An environmental group argued BLM violated NEPA and t...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part two district court rulings in lawsuits concerning policies governing oil and gas lease sales conducted by BLM on protected sage-grouse habitat. Environmental groups filed suit in Idaho and Montana, challenging certain sales conducted under guid...
The D.C. Circuit vacated the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA's) 2020 rule authorizing the transportation of liquefied natural gas by rail in newly designed tank cars without a permit. Environmental groups, several states, and an Indian tribe petitioned for review, arg...
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 conservation groups' petition to review the Forest Service's approval of a revised management plan for the Rio Grande National Forest. The groups argued the Service's approval violated the National Forest Management Act and the 2012 Planning Rule by not including species-spec...
The Fifth Circuit reversed in part a district court's dismissal of a lawsuit brought by property owners against the city of Dallas and the Army Corps of Engineers concerning an ongoing floodway extension project. The owners argued the Corps' failure to prepare a supplemental EIS to account for new i...
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...