The Sixth Circuit held that seepage from a coal-fired power plant that reached a nearby lake violated RCRA, but not the CWA. Environmental groups argued that the chemicals being stored in coal ash ponds contaminated the surrounding groundwater, which in turn contaminated a nearby lake, in violation ...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a summary judgment rejecting a mining association's challenge to an Oregon law that prohibits the use of motorized mining equipment in rivers and streams containing essential salmon habitat. The association argued that the law was field preempted by the federal 1872 Mining...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part environmental groups' petition challenging EPA's 2015 rule governing the disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) produced by electric utilities and independent power plants. The groups argued that the rule unlawfully disregarded significant risks of harmful leak...

The Fourth Circuit vacated both an incidental take statement issued by FWS and a right-of-way permit issued by the National Park Service (NPS) for construction of a natural gas pipeline that intersects the Blue Ridge Parkway. Environmental groups argued that the take limits set by FWS in its Inciden...

The Fourth Circuit vacated and remanded BLM's decision granting a right-of-way through federal land for construction of a pipeline and the U.S. Forest Service's decision to amend the Jefferson National Forest Land Resource Management Plan to accommodate the right-of-way and pipeline construction. En...

The D.C. Circuit affirmed a lower court decision granting DOI's motion to dismiss an order compelling it to update the EIS for the federal coal management program. Environmental and community organizations claimed that the programmatic EIS (PEIS) for the program violated NEPA and the APA. They argue...