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Cascadia Wildlands v. Adcock
A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for an environmental group in a challenge to a BLM tree thinning and harvesting project in Oregon. The group argued BLM should have prepared an EIS and failed to take a "hard look" at effects on recovery and survival of the no...
Kansas Natural Resource Coalition v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service
A district court granted summary judgment for landowners and a coalition of counties in a challenge to FWS' issuance of an ESA Section 4(d) Rule alongside its listing of the northern distinct population of lesser prairie-chicken as a threatened species. Plaintiffs argued FWS should have considered e...
Healthy Gulf v. Burgum
A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM's) approval of a 2023 offshore oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. The groups argued BOEM's assessment of greenhouse gas emissions, ...
Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority v. U.S. Department of the Interior
A district court vacated DOI's termination of seven lease agreements with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) for development of oil and gas resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. AIDEA argued DOI deprived it of due process under the Fifth Amendment by canceling...
Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend v. United States Army Corps of Engineers
The Fifth Circuit affirmed denial of summary judgment for two Native American tribes and an environmental group in a challenge to a CWA §404 permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers to expand operations at an oil export terminal on Texas' Gulf Coast. The tribes and group sought to invalidate th...
Healthy Gulf v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The D.C. Circuit denied environmental groups' challenge to FERC's authorization of a project to build two new natural gas pipelines in southwestern Louisiana. The groups argued FERC violated NEPA by failing to consider the project's effects on upstream greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, failing to dete...
Using Institutional Controls in Anticipation of Superfund Site Disasters
Understanding the nearly impossible task of containing contaminants from Superfund sites, it is imperative to find solutions in anticipation of disasters that scientists project will only increase in magnitude and frequency. This Comment proceeds in six parts. Part I identifies the challenge of increasing natural disasters and their impact at Superfund sites, which are toxic havens. Part II identifies efforts that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies have taken to make Superfund sites more climate-resilient.
Restricting Oil and Gas Leases Through Withdrawals Under OCSLA: Can A President Rescind?
This Comment focuses on energy developments offshore. Part I recognizes OCSLA’s purpose of balancing energy needs with protection of marine animals, coastal beaches, and wetlands. Part II discusses examples of presidential use of OCSLA §12(a) authority to protect (withdraw from leasing) portions of the OCS temporarily or permanently, including challenges to President Biden’s recent withdrawal of the East Coast, West Coast, and part of the Gulf of Mexico and Bering Strait from future oil and gas leases.
Environmental Justice and Cumulative Impacts in California
The Comment shows the importance of EJ and cumulative impact governance coming from municipalities by highlighting a specific case study that has worked: San Francisco.