The Fifth Circuit held that DOI's ban on owning bald eagle feathers under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). DOI's implementation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act prohibits American Indians who are not members of federally recog...

The D.C. Circuit upheld FERC Order No. 1000, in which it adopted reforms to electric transmission planning and cost allocation. The order requires public utility transmission owners and operators to participate in regional transmission planning to prevent undue discrimination and preference in trans...

The D.C. Circuit denied residents' petitions for review challenging FERC's approval of a new natural gas compressor station in their town. Although the project is now finished and functional, the petitions are not moot because the residents assert that the compressor's operation continues to harm th...

A district court upheld FWS' designation of 1,544 acres of a privately owned tree farm in Louisiana as critical habitat essential for the conservation of the dusky gopher frog, an endangered species. The frog, listed in 2001, is located only in Mississippi; it does not presently occupy the tree farm...

A Colorado court held that the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Act preempts a city's five-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. The city is a "home-rule" city, meaning it has “the full right of self-government” on local and municipal matters. Nevertheless, a local ordinance that infringes on...

The Ninth Circuit held that it lacked jurisdiction to review a U.S. Coast Guard letter to FERC concerning the suitability of the Columbia River for vessel traffic associated with a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility and pipeline. The letter of recommendation stated that although the river...