In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court ruling in a lawsuit over a logging project in Kootenai National Forest.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 granted the Army Corps of Engineers' motion to dismiss a developer's challenge to the Corps' 2012 jurisdictional determination over certain wetlands in Virginia. The developer challenged the Corps' significant nexus finding between the wetlands and the Northwest River, arguing the s...
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...
A district court granted summary judgment for a number of states in a challenge to a 2024 CEQ rule that revised regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA, including amendments in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The states argued the rule violated NEPA and the APA by exceeding CEQ...
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in a challenge to regulations promulgated by the Commission that restricted where and how Florida-registered fishing vessels could harvest Florida pompano in federal waters in the Gulf of Mex...
The Second Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in a challenge to enforcement of regulations prohibiting the harvesting of American glass eels. An Indian tribe sued DEC and its commissioner, arguing a 1676 agreement between the Royal...
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...