M.L. Johnson Family Properties, LLC v. Zinke
A district court upheld a surface coal mining permit issued to a company even though the cotenant objected to any mining on the property. The company cotenant conveyed the right to enter and surface mine coal to an affiliate, but the other cotenant did not consent to surface mining. Nevertheless, th...
League of Conservation Voters v. Trump
A district court denied motions to dismiss environmental groups' lawsuit challenging Executive Order 13795, “Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy,” which reversed President Obama’s withdrawal of 128 million acres in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from future oil and gas leasi...
Western Organization of Resource Councils v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management
A district court held that BLM violated NEPA by failing to adequately consider climate change in the resource management plans (RMPs) for Buffalo, Wyoming, and Miles City, Montana, both located within the coal-rich Powder River Basin. BLM's EISs failed to consider any alternative that would decrease...
Little Traverse Lake Property Owners Ass'n v. National Park Service
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing residents' NEPA lawsuit against the National Park Service (NPS) concerning its approval of a scenic trailway through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. One of the alternative routes for the trailway, which NPS proposed...
In re Border Infrastructure Environmental Litigation
A district court upheld the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS') decision to waive the legal requirements of NEPA, ESA, and CZMA for two border wall construction projects in San Diego, California. DHS made its waiver determination under §102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant ...
Public Citizen v. Trump
A district court held that public interest and environmental groups lacked standing to challenge the "two-for-one" executive order issued by President Trump on January 30, 2017. The order requires executive branch agencies to identify two existing regulations to be repealed for every new regulation,...