The court vacates two Court of International Trade orders that were issued after an environmental group withdrew its motion to enforce the Court of International Trade's ruling pertaining to the enforcement of turtle excluder device regulations under §609 of the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Justic...

The court holds that various federal agencies violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in their preparations of biological assessments (BAs), biological opinions (BOs), and environmental impact statements (EIS) with respect to the survival of the Son...

A district court upheld the FWS's determination that sport-hunted polar bear trophies may no longer be imported into the United States under the Marine Mammals Protection Act (MMPA) as of the effective date of the ESA listing rule for the species. In May 2008, the FWS determined threatened status fo...

A district court held that the FWS violated NEPA, but not the ESA, when it issued a special rule that specifies the protective mechanisms that apply to the polar bear as a result of its threatened status. In May 2008, the FWS listed the polar bear as threatened under the ESA. The Service then issued...

The court holds that the district court erred in holding that environmental groups lack standing in their Federal Water Pollution Control Act citizen suit challenging the Department of Energy's (DOE's) proposed reopening of a nuclear reactor at the Savannah River site in South Carolina. The reactor ...

The court denies a suggestion for rehearing en banc of its prior decision in Natural Resources Defense Council v. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, 22 ELR 21381, which held that the Board's regulation allowing it to close meetings, or portions of meetings, concerning its recommendations relat...

The court holds that the Federal Power Act (FPA) preempts state regulation of a federally licensed hydroelectric power project in a national forest in California. The court first holds that the action is ripe for review even though plaintiff dam operator has not completed the state permitting proces...

The court holds that timber companies and an industry trade association lack standing to bring claims under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) challenging actions by the U.S. Forest Service to protect the red-...

The court holds that environmental groups and private individuals are not entitled to a preliminary injunction prohibiting the U.S. Forest Service from implementing animal damage control (ADC) plans to reduce coyote populations in the Dixie and the Fishlake National Forests in Utah. The ADC programs...

The court holds that an electric power cooperative, metal corporations, and a nonprofit corporation representing consumer-owned electric utilities lack standing to challenge the decision of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and other federal agencies to augment water flow over dams on the...