The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing an Alaskan community's lawsuit against the Minerals Management Service (MMS) challenging its decision not to prepare a supplemental EIS for a proposed oil and gas lease sale on a tract of the outer continental shelf in the Beaufort Sea. MM...

A district court held that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) violated NEPA in its decision to deregulate a variety of genetically engineered sugar beets. Sugar beets are pollinated by both wind and insects, and scientists have documented that sugar beet pollen can disperse up to...

A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service's EIS addressing the land management plans for four national forests in southern California was issued in violation of NEPA and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA). The court rejected many of the plaintiffs' challenges. Nevertheless, the Fores...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower court decision denying Native American tribes' motion to preliminarily enjoin BLM's approval of a large gold mining project on Mt. Tenabo, Nevada, which has religious significance for the tribes. The tribes failed to satisfy their burde...

The Second Circuit denied a petition for review challenging the NRC's decision not to reverse its 1996 EIS finding that spent fuel pools at nuclear power plants do not create a significant environmental impact within the meaning of NEPA. Because the NRC has given due consideration to the relevant st...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a corporate officer’s conviction under RCRA relating to the illegal storage of hazardous waste. The officer argued that the United States could charge and obtain a conviction against the corporation or him, but not both. The court disagreed. Both the corporation and ...

A district court held that the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA's) supplemental environmental assessment (EA) and revised finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for a proposed casino on Native American land held in trust by the United States complied with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)...

A district court held that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) improperly segmented its analysis of a petroleum pipeline construction project in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act. The BLM erroneously determined that the pipeline segment had independent utility from another proposed ...

The court upholds a district court decision that the U.S. Navy's environmental impact statement (EIS) for the construction of an aircraft landing field in North Carolina was deficient under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), but it vacates the court's injunction of the project as overly b...

A court dismisses an environmental group's Endangered Species Act (ESA) and National Environmental Policy Act claims against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries concerning logging activity on private lands in Humboldt County, California, a...