Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Forest Service
A district court granted in part and denied in part a motion for summary judgment in a challenge to the U.S. Forest Service's approval of a mining company's permit to explore for gold in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Environmental groups first argued that the Forest Service violated NEPA by f...
Center for Biological Diversity v. Ross
A district court vacated exempted fishing permits issued by NMFS that allowed two vessels to engage in commercial longline fishing in federal waters off the coast of California for two years. Environmental groups contended that the permits threatened the survival and recovery of Pacific leatherback ...
Sauk Prairie Conservation Alliance v. United States Department of the Interior
The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for NPS in a lawsuit concerning acceptable activities on land acquired by Wisconsin through the Federal Land to Parks Program for recreational use. An environmental group argued that NPS' approval of three activities at the park—dog training, off-road ...
Should We Ban Single-Use Plastics?
Millions of tons of plastic enter the environment every year, killing wildlife, releasing toxins, clogging drains, and marring landscapes. Bans or restrictions on single-use plastics have exploded in popularity in recent years as a means of addressing these problems. Yet these bans remain controversial, with some businesses pushing back against what they consider excessive regulation and others maintaining that banning single-use plastics uses political capital that could be spent advancing more urgent and systemic agendas.
Citizens for a Healthy Community v. United States Bureau of Land Management
A district court enjoined approved permits and suspended applications for new permits for oil and gas development in Colorado until BLM completes its analysis of reasonably foreseeable indirect impacts. In a previous ruling, the court concluded that BLM had failed to sufficiently explain the scope o...
United States v. Exxon Mobil Corp.
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court order denying the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Board's petition to enforce subpoenas issued against an oil company following an explosion and chemical release at one of its refineries. The district court found that 29 of the subpoenas were enforceable, ...