In a modified opinion that withdraws a prior published opinion, the Ninth Circuit found that an environmental group has standing to challenge a uranium mining company's right to operate on land previously withdrawn from new mining claims. The group argued that the U.S. Forest Service violated the Ge...

A district court preliminarily enjoined BLM from conducting oil and gas lease sales under the procedures of a new BLM directive. Environmental groups argued that the directive unlawfully constrains environmental review of, and public participation in, oil and gas lease decisions that affect and thre...

A district court dismissed groups' NEPA and CWA claims against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in connection with its approval of a 17-mile transmission line across the James River near historic Jamestown, Virginia. The Corps took a "hard look" at the project and properly determined that no EIS was...

Pennsylvania's highest court reversed a lower court decision that would have allowed a company to drill, construct, develop, and operate unconventional natural gas wells as a conditional use in a district zoned for residential and agricultural uses. The lower court held that the proposed gas well wa...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court's grant of summary judgment in favor of a Native American tribe in a lawsuit seeking to enjoin the DOI's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) from taking a parcel of land into trust for the tribe so it could build a casino and hotel complex. Following the BIA's dec...

A Pennsylvania court affirmed a lower court decision dismissing residents' and an environmental group's lawsuit challenging the construction of a natural gas pipeline through a suburban township. The plaintiffs argued that a local zoning ordinance prohibits the construction of hazardous gas and liqu...

A district court held that an energy company must follow additional safety measures operating the Dakota Access pipeline while the environmental impacts of the project are being studied. In an earlier decision, the court held that the Dakota Access pipeline could continue to operate while the Army C...

The Sixth Circuit held that the state of Ohio did not properly analyze the environmental harm of an eight-mile stretch of the Nexus natural gas pipeline or consider alternative routes to avoid the City of Green. The pipeline would run through a wetland that the city claimed would be irreparably harm...

A California appellate court held that a project to modify an oil refinery so it can unload the equivalent of 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day should not proceed until corrections can be made to its state environmental impact report (EIR). The project proposed transporting crude oil from the Bak...

A district court held that a lawsuit challenging the Keystone XL pipeline can continue despite calls from the federal government to dismiss the case. On April 4, 2017, the State Department approved a presidential permit for the pipeline. In its approval, the State Department relied on a 2014 EIS con...