The Fifth Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a discrimination challenge brought against St. James Parish in Louisiana. Two faith- and community-based groups argued the Parish had discriminated against them by directing hazardous industrial facility development toward majority-Black dis...
Tribal groups argued NMFS violated NEPA in adopting the harvest specifications because they relied on outdated EISs despite dramatic changes to the ecosystem that necessitated an updated environmental analysis. The court found the specifications were not arbitrary and capricious because NMFS conclud...
The Fourth Circuit vacated two district court decisions in lawsuits concerning a chemical manufacturer's role in allegedly contaminating Maryland's and South Carolina's waterways by using per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in its products. The two states sued in state court, each filing two ...
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 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 D.C. Circuit vacated certain requirements under an EPA rule concerning the assertion and treatment of confidential business information (CBI) claims for information reported to or otherwise obtained by the Agency under TSCA. Trade groups challenged the rule, arguing it allowed for unlawful discl...
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 EPA's motion to dismiss a TSCA citizen suit brought by environmental groups concerning fluorination. The groups sought to compel EPA to prohibit the company's fluorination practices, which produced per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of carcinogenic chemicals...