Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
A district court denied a water district's motion to intervene in an ESA lawsuit seeking protections for longfin smelt. The water district argued it had standing to intervene because its alleged injury—a reduction in water allocation—was economic, its injury was traceable to plaintiff's claims s...
Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for EPA in a challenge to a compliance order stating that landowners' property in Idaho contained wetlands subject to CWA protection and directing them to remove fill and restore the property to its natural state. The appellate court concluded that EPA rea...
Earth Island Institute v. Regan
A district court granted summary judgment for an environmental group in a challenge to EPA's regulations for oil spill dispersants. The group argued that EPA violated the CWA by failing to issue a final rule updating the NCP for addressing oil spills in light of new information showing the chemicals...
The Parish of Plaquemines v. Chevron USA, Inc.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part district court rulings in a collection of lawsuits concerning oil companies' decades of drilling activities along the Louisiana coast. Six Louisiana parishes filed suit in state court, arguing the companies violated the Louisiana State and Loca...
South Carolina Coastal Conservation League v. United States Environmental Protection Agency
A district court granted EPA's motion to remand without vacatur the Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule., full_html...
Indigenous Environmental Network v. Trump
A district court denied a pipeline company's motion to dismiss a challenge to President Trump's issuance of a permit for construction of a cross-border segment of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Environmental groups had argued the president's issuance of the permit violated the Property Clause, the Co...
Northwest Environmental Advocates v. United States Environmental Protection Agency
A district court granted partial summary judgment for environmental groups in a CWA citizen suit concerning water quality standards for mercury in Idaho. The groups argued that EPA's failure to promptly publish and promulgate mercury standards after disapproving Idaho's revision of those standards v...