The D.C. Circuit denied citizen advocacy groups' claim that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Atomic Energy Act when it granted a license for a new, privately owned facility in New Mexico to produce enriched uranium as fuel for nuclear reactors....

The Fourth Circuit affirmed an award of attorney fees in a citizen suit brought under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act with respect to the preliminary injunction phase of the litigation, but reversed fees awarded for the supplemental claims phase. The supplemental phase included plaint...

A district court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Alaska native groups seeking to rescind certain oil and gas leases issued by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) in 2007. The MMS prepared an EIS in 2003 for lease sales that were to occur in 2003, 2005, and 2007. Because of the time lag between the 20...

The D.C. Circuit upheld the U.S. Department of the Interior's (DOI's) interpretation of "valid existing rights" in a 1999 rule to foreclose surface mining operations in sensitive areas. A mining association argued that Congress inserted "valid existing rights" in the Surface Mining Control and Recla...

The Tenth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of Colorado's Clean Indoor Air Act. The Act bans smoking in indoor areas, but it expressly exempts from this general prohibition "airport smoking concessions" such as airport restaurants and bars. A coalition of tavern and bar owners filed suit challeng...

The Eighth Circuit held that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it implemented certain revisions to the operational document for the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System without preparing a supplemental environmental impact statemen...

The Ninth Circuit upheld an injunction enjoining the California Air Resources Board from enforcing state regulations that limit emissions from the auxiliary diesel engines of ocean-going vessels within 24 miles of California's coast. Clean Air Act (CAA) §209(e)(2)(A) requires California to obta...

The Second Circuit remanded with directions to dismiss claims against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a former Agency administrator for misleading plaintiffs into believing that the air quality in lower Manhattan in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, was safe enough to permit th...

The D.C. Circuit held that the U.S. Department of the Interior's (DOI's) approval of a proposed casino on Native American lands did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). An internal DOI document states that proposals for "large" and/or "potentially controversial" gaming establish...

The Fourth Circuit held that the Natural Gas Act (NGA) preempts a county bill prohibiting the siting of any liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal within 1,000 feet from the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The bill is an amendment to the state's critical management plan (CMP) because it imposes a ...