A district court granted the Biden Administration's motion to dismiss a challenge to the president's 2023 designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The Arizona state legislature, a cattle rancher, and other plaintiffs argued Proclamatio...
A district court granted an electric transmission developer's motion for preliminary injunction against Indiana's 2023 law that granted incumbent transmission owners a right of first refusal to build transmission projects in their service areas. The developer argued the law blocked it from bidding o...
A district court granted in part nonprofit and public interest groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') 2020 rule concerning regulation of genetically engineered (GE) organisms. The groups argued the rule effectively abandoned fe...
In a divided opinion, a D.C. Circuit panel vacated FAA's and the National Park Service's plan governing tourist flights over four national parks in California, and also ruled that CEQ lacked the authority to issue regulations binding on other federal agencies. An environmental group sought to set as...
A district court granted an Indian tribe's motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against BLM's decision to approve the third phase of a lithium drilling project in northwestern Arizona. The tribe argued BLM violated the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) when it found no historical p...
A district court denied an environmental and public health group's motion for a preliminary injunction in a challenge to FWS' and the Federal Highway Administration's (FHwA's) authorization of a trail development project through a former nuclear weapons production site in Rocky Flats National Wildli...
The D.C. Circuit granted in part and denied in part a trade group's petition to review the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA's) 2022 revised safety standards for natural gas transportation. The group challenged five of the standards, alleging flaws in the rulemaking pro...
The D.C. Circuit affirmed a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) order licensing a new satellite system. An environmental group argued the FCC's decision not to perform an environmental review of light pollution and atmospheric effects of the system violated NEPA. The court found the license fell...
A district court denied summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to BLM's management plan for a recreation area in Montana. The groups argued BLM violated NEPA, FLPMA, and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) when it developed the plan, and sought a preliminary injunction. The c...
A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for a conservation group in a challenge to the National Park Service's (NPS') delayed implementation of a marine reserve zone and commercial fishing phaseout in Biscayne National Park in Florida. The group argued NPS violated the A...