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...

The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation did not violate the CWA by discharging pollutants into the Klamath River without a permit in connection with its management of an irrigation project along the California-Oregon border. The Klamath Straits Drain, part of the Klamath Irrigatio...

A district court held that it lacked jurisdiction over a coal company's lawsuit challenging EPA's and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' controversial "waters of the United States" rule. The agencies filed a motion to stay the case based, in part, on their position that exclusive jurisdiction to hear...

A district court preliminarily enjoined EPA's and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' controversial "waters of the United States" rule. Thirteen states—Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming—challenged the...

A California court held that revised "curtailment letters" that the state water board sent to irrigation districts and water appropriators in the Central Valley no longer violate due process, and therefore denied the districts' motions for a preliminary injunction. The court previously ruled that th...

A district court held that a mining company violated state and federal permits when it discharged high levels of ionic pollution. Environmental groups successfully demonstrated that high conductivity discharges from two of the company's mines are causing or materially contributing to the biological ...