In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for FWS in a challenge to its decision not to list the Tucson shovel-nosed snake as endangered under the ESA. An environmental group petitioned FWS to list the species in 2004, and again in 2020 after the Service rejected the ini...

The D.C. Circuit denied a petition to review FERC's authorization of an owner's request to surrender its license for a hydroelectric project on the Salmon Falls River between New Hampshire and Maine. A conservation group initially requested rehearing of the authorization, arguing the two dams from t...

A district court upheld in part and remanded in part DOI's decision to refrain from holding lease sales of federal land for oil and gas development during the second and third quarters of 2021 and the third and fourth quarters of 2022. Oil and gas industry groups challenged the lack of lease sales f...

A district court denied an animal advocacy group's request to vacate and remand FWS' decisions approving a general conservation plan (GCP) and incidental take permits for the Utah prairie dog. The group argued the decision to approve the GCP was arbitrary and capricious because the plan will not ful...

In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Forest Service in a challenge to its decision to approve a herd management plan for wild horses in Ochoco National Forest. A group of conservationists argued the Service violated the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Ac...

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...

The D.C. Circuit denied a pipeline operator's petition to review a FERC order authorizing abandonment, subject to a condition, of a natural gas pipeline it operated off the Louisiana and Texas coasts. The operator had applied for an abandonment order after a segment of the pipeline was damaged by a ...

The D.C. Circuit denied an advocacy group's petition to review FERC's approval of a natural gas pipeline in Indiana. The group argued FERC was required to analyze non-gas alternatives before approving the pipeline, which would serve two new natural gas turbines as part of a plan to retire a coal-fir...

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed a trial court ruling that declared the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) violated youths' state constitutional right to a "clean and healthful environment." The youths argued a provision of MEPA that precluded analysis of greenhouse gas emissions in EAs and E...

A district court granted in part environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a CAA citizen suit concerning EPA's duty to update emissions standards for hazardous waste combustors. The groups sought declaratory judgment stating that EPA failed to comply with its obligations and injunctive re...