A district court granted in part nonprofit and public interest groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') 2020 rule concerning regulation of genetically engineered (GE) organisms. The groups argued the rule effectively abandoned fe...

In an unpublished opinion, the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court's order remanding to state court a lawsuit concerning a Michigan airport's use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). Michigan's attorney general (AG) and Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy sued in state court, argu...

The First Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the U.S. government in a lawsuit concerning a plan to construct a large-scale commercial offshore wind energy facility off of Martha's Vineyard. Several entities associated with the commercial fishing industry challenged the approval process, asserting...

A district court denied in part and dismissed in part environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning the use of seeds treated with pesticides. The groups petitioned EPA to subject treated seeds to FIFRA, arguing the Agency could not exempt them from a separate registration...

A district court granted summary judgment for an environmental group in a lawsuit alleging that an equestrian center was unlawfully discharging pollutants into waters of the United States. The group argued the center discharged wastewater into adjacent waters without an NPDES permit, which it was re...

In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Forest Service in a challenge to its approval of a 40,000-acre logging project in Malheur National Forest. An environmental group argued the Service violated NEPA by failing to adequately assess cumulative impacts, failin...

A district court granted summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to Wildlife Services' reauthorization of a predator damage and conflict management program in Montana under which grizzly bears may be killed. The groups argued the Services violated NEPA by failing to include critical...

A district court dismissed a trade group's lawsuit challenging NMFS' implementation of an amendment to the groundfish fishery management plan (FMP) that changed how the halibut bycatch limit is set for fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. The group argued the amendment violated the Magn...

In a divided opinion, a D.C. Circuit panel vacated FAA's and the National Park Service's plan governing tourist flights over four national parks in California, and also ruled that CEQ lacked the authority to issue regulations binding on other federal agencies. An environmental group sought to set as...

A district court on remand permanently enjoined the Public Utility Commission of Texas from enforcing a 2019 state law that limited the ability to build, own, or operate new transmission lines to owners of existing transmission facilities in Texas, in areas of the state not covered by the main grid ...