The First Circuit denied Massachusetts' petition for review of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) order denying its request to participate directly in a re-licensing proceeding of two nuclear energy plants as a "party" before the agency issues its renewal decision. Massachusetts argued that it mu...

The D.C. Circuit held that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, or residents' due process rights in its treatment of a hydroelectric project operator that violated its licen...

A district court issued a preliminary injunction limiting the amount of cattle grazing allowed on conservation reserve program (CRP) lands. In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) began a critical feed use haying and grazing program on CRP lands to deal with rising feed prices. But in so d...

The court holds that oil and gas lessees failed to state a claim under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act's (OCSLA's) citizen suit provision when they challenged the U.S. Department of the Interior's (DOI's) determination that transportation costs are not deductible under the royalty provisions o...

The court upholds the Secretary of the Interior's approval of increased dock fees charged by a private marina operator at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The court first holds that, in approving the operator's rate increase requests, the Secretary did not act arbitrarily or capriciously in v...

The court holds that the Quiet Title Act does not require the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) to refer the determination of chain of title mining claims to the federal district court. Appellants claimed that the IBLA's failure to refer the claims violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)...

The court holds that the Tulloch rule's requirement of a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §404 permit for incidental fallback exceeds the scope of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' FWPCA statutory authority. The court first holds that the straightforward statutory term "addition" cannot ...

The court upholds the U.S. Forest Service's denial of a special use permit to land a private helicopter on a parcel of the Sawtooth National Forest that abuts the permit applicant's vacation property in rural Idaho. The court first holds that the Forest Service reasonably interpreted 36 C.F.R. §251...

The court affirms a district court decision enjoining further construction on a Kansas highway project until the Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) completes a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for a segment of the project. The court first...

The court reinstates a neighborhood association's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Federal Aid Highway Act (FAHA) claims against federal and state agencies for failing to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) addressing the construction of a bypass around Salisbury...