The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of environmental groups' lawsuit challenging BLM's decision to lease two tracts of land in the Wyoming Powder River Basin for coal mining. The groups argued that BLM failed to adequately consider several environmental concerns, including the increase in local ...

The North Dakota Supreme Court held that the state owns the mineral interests under the shore zone of the Missouri River, which cuts through the oil-rich Bakken Shale region. Under the equal footing doctrine, the state's title to the beds of navigable waters extends from high watermark to high water...

A district court dismissed Native American and environmental groups' CAA citizen suit asking the court to order EPA to issue a final rule that establishes best available retrofit technology (BART) for the Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant in northern Arizona near the Grand Canyon. ...

The D.C. Circuit dismissed Arizona's objection to a consent decree that established a timeline for EPA to approve a SIP, or promulgate a federal implementation plan (FIP), that would meet the requirements of the Regional Haze Rule. A lower court held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the objection...

The D.C. Circuit vacated an EPA rule establishing nonconformance penalties (NCPs) for on-highway, heavy-duty diesel engines. NCPs are intended to protect "technological laggards" by allowing them to pay a penalty for engines temporarily unable to meet new or revised emission standards. EPA establish...

The D.C. Circuit remanded for reconsideration EPA's revisions to the secondary, welfare-based NAAQS for ozone, but denied petitions challenging revisions to the primary, health-based ozone NAAQS. Primary standards set limits to protect public health, including the health of "sensitive" populations s...

The Michigan Court of Appeals, in an unpublished opinion, upheld the state environmental agency's decision to issue two permits authorizing modifications at a coal-fired power plant. The plant is located in a county that violates the NAAQS for particulate matter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5). An env...