A district court remanded without vacatur the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM's) final EIS and record of decision (ROD) for a 2022 oil lease sale in Alaska's Cook Inlet. Environmental groups argued BOEM's review of the lease sale and ROD violated NEPA, and moved to remand and vacate both. ...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part and denied in part petitions to review FERC's authorization of construction and operation of liquefied natural gas facilities in southwestern Louisiana. Environmental groups argued FERC did not properly address NEPA and Natural Gas Act requirements. The court found F...

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 16 states' motion to preliminarily enjoin the Biden Administration's temporary pause of pending decisions on liquefied natural gas exports. The states argued the pause violated the Natural Gas Act and exceeded statutory authority, and sought to stay or enjoin it. The court f...

The Third Circuit affirmed denial of a preliminary injunction motion in a lawsuit concerning an administrative appeal of permits for a pipeline expansion in Pennsylvania. A state agency had issued required permits to the company to begin construction, but environmental groups administratively appeal...

The Sixth Circuit reversed a district court ruling in a lawsuit concerning the Line 5 Pipeline that runs underwater across the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsulas. Michigan's attorney general (AG) initially sued the pipeline owner in state court, seeking to enjoin con...

The D.C. Circuit, 2-1, affirmed summary judgment for BLM in a challenge to the agency's 2003 final rule withdrawing a proposed rule that would have limited the maximum size of "mill sites" for mining claims on federal lands and instead codifying the agency's historical understanding that the governi...

The D.C. Circuit denied petitions to review FERC's approval of a project that would expand service on a natural gas pipeline running from western Pennsylvania to the New York metropolitan area. A nonprofit group argued FERC's EIS failed to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from upstream drilli...

The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, reversed summary judgment for the Forest Service in a challenge to its approval of a mineral exploration project on land in Inyo National Forest. Environmental groups argued the Service violated NEPA by combining two categorical exclusions (CEs) when neither alone could be in...