A district court granted summary judgment for FWS in a challenge to the adequacy of its recovery plan for the threatened bull trout. Environmental groups argued the plan failed to include objective and measurable criteria as required under §4(f) of the ESA. The court found that the ESA did not impo...
A district court granted summary judgment for EPA in a FOIA lawsuit brought by a nonprofit group. The group requested a 2018 draft version of the Agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) formaldehyde assessment. EPA withheld the assessment under the deliberative process privilege, and the ...
A district court denied FWS' motion to dismiss a challenge to its authorization of 12 leopard import permits from hunts expected to occur in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Zambia. Environmental groups argued FWS' authorization violated the ESA by making a non-detriment finding without considering the facto...
The Third Circuit affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit concerning reporting requirements for emissions following fires at a steel facility near Pittsburgh. An environmental group argued the facility operator should have reported the emissions to the federal government pursuant to CERCLA in addition to re...
The D.C. Circuit vacated FERC's issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity for construction of a natural gas pipeline in the St. Louis area. An environmental group argued FERC's decision to award the certificate uncritically and exclusively relied on a precedent agreement between ...
The D.C. Circuit vacated a district court's grant of summary judgment to USDA's Farm Service Agency in a lawsuit concerning the agency's loan approval for a chicken farm in Maryland. An environmental group argued the EA made in connection with the loan approval violated NEPA, and that the EA should ...
The U.S. Supreme Court held, 6-3, that a small refinery that previously received a hardship exemption from renewable fuel requirements may obtain an "extension" even if it saw a lapse in exemption coverage in a previous year. A group of renewable fuel producers had petitioned for review of EPA's gra...
A state appellate court upheld, 2-1, a certificate of need and routing permit granted by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for replacement of a portion of the Line 3 oil pipeline. Native American tribes and environmental groups challenged the Commission's decision to grant the certificate of...
A district court dismissed two Pennsylvania state senators' challenge to the Delaware River Basin Commission's imposition of a moratorium on gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware Basin. The senators argued, among other things, that the moratorium exceeded the Commission's authority. ...
A district court denied BLM's motion to stay a challenge to a former Secretary of the Interior's order lifting a moratorium on coal leasing. States, environmental groups, and a Native American tribe had challenged the adequacy of BLM's final EA and FONSI in support of its decision to reinstate the l...