A district court denied a motion to preliminarily enjoin BLM from authorizing construction of a helium drilling project on public lands near the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness in southeastern Utah. Environmental groups argued BLM violated NEPA by failing to analyze the cumulative impacts of water use r...
A district court denied an environmental group's motion for summary judgment in a challenge to FWS' denial of the group's 2014 petition to update the recovery plan for grizzly bears. The group argued that FWS' denial was arbitrary and capricious. The court concluded that while recovery plans were vi...
A district court denied a motion to preliminarily enjoin construction of a power transmission line through the Western Maine Mountains. Environmental groups challenged the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to issue a CWA/Rivers and Harbors Act permit for the line without preparing an EIS, arguing th...
A district court denied FWS' and the Forest Service's motion to dismiss a challenge to their bear baiting policy for black bear hunting in national forests in Idaho and Wyoming. Environmental groups argued that the number of grizzly bears taken due to hunting black bears using bait in the states' na...
A district court granted nonprofit groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to EPA's denial of their petitions to initiate TSCA rulemaking to expand its information-gathering process regarding asbestos-related health risks. The groups argued that EPA's denial of their petitions was arbitra...
A district court denied motions to preliminarily enjoin BLM from issuing oil and gas leases and authorizing seismic activity in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Indigenous and environmental groups argued that BLM violated, among other statutes, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act...
The Tenth Circuit affirmed in part and dismissed in part a lower court ruling in a challenge to actions taken by the National Park Service (NPS) regarding wildlife management on inholdings in Grand Teton National Park. Environmental groups challenged NPS' 2014 determination that a regulation prohibi...
The Fifth Circuit denied petitions to review EPA's 2018 redesignation of Bexar County, Texas, from attainment to nonattainment and designation of three neighboring counties as attainment/unclassifiable for 2015 ozone NAAQS. Texas argued EPA only had authority to change the state's recommended design...
The Montana Supreme Court affirmed in part a ruling that granted summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality's (MDEQ's) approval of an exploration license for mining on private land north of Yellowstone National Park. The groups argued ...
A district court remanded BLM's authorization and issuance of 59 leases of public land in the Uinta Basin for oil and gas exploration. Conservation groups challenged BLM's decision on several NEPA grounds and sought to have it vacated. The court found that the agency took an appropriately hard look ...