The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court decision dismissing a Peruvian Achuar indigenous group's lawsuit against an oil company for environmental contamination and the release of hazardous wastes. The complaint alleges that, during its 30 years in the Achuar territories, the oil company kno...

A district court held that environmental groups lack standing to challenge three decisions by the BLM and a decision by the Interior Board of Land Appeals concerning 39 federal oil and gas leases in Utah. The groups do not have standing because they have not shown that their members have suf...

The Fifth Circuit held that a "farmout agreement," under which the owner of a federal offshore oil and gas lease transferred its rights to drill to another drilling operator, does not require the operator to bear a proportionate share of the costs of decommissioning an oil platform at the le...

The First Circuit upheld a FERC order requiring a precision tool and instrument manufacturer to seek licensing under §23(b) of the Federal Power Act before it can proceed with certain changes to a hydroelectric generating facility project on its property. Under §23(b), the company must seek l...

The Seventh Circuit held that an environmental group has standing to challenge a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit allowing 18.4 acres of wetlands in a state park to be destroyed to make way for a landfill. A lower court held that the group lacked standing and therefore dismissed the case. It...

The Third Circuit denied environmental groups' petition for review of an NRC decision granting a license renewal for the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. The groups, who intervened in the license renewal proceedings, offered several contentions challenging the licensee's plans to detect...