Beardslee v. Inflection Energy, LLC
The Second Circuit held that New York's moratorium on hydraulic fracturing did not allow energy companies to extend oil and gas leases they entered into with landowners. The leases contained "force majeure" clauses, excusing the parties from nonperformance due to events outside their control, as wel...
Shearwater v. Ashe
A district court held that FWS violated NEPA when it issued a rule increasing from five years to 30 years the maximum duration of programmatic permits for wind energy developers to take bald and golden eagles. FWS issued the rule in hopes of promoting renewable energy projects. But when it issued th...
Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center v. MacWhorter
The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court decision dismissing an environmental group's ESA lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service concerning the agency's approval of suction dredge mining projects in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Because the Forest provides designated critical habitat fo...