ELR Citation: 52 ELR 20079
No(s). 19-cv-05206-JST, 4:19-cv-06013-JST, and 4:19-cv-06812-JST (N.D. Cal. Jul 5, 2022) (Tigar, J.)

A district court vacated a series of regulations enacted in 2019 that modified how FWS and NMFS implement the ESA. Environmental groups, states, and cities argued the regulations violated the ESA, the APA, and NEPA. FWS and NMFS moved to remand without vacatur, arguing vacatur would cause confusion among the public, other agencies, and stakeholders by "abruptly altering the applicable regulatory framework and creating uncertainty about which standards to apply." The court found it doubtful that vacatur would contribute to any uncertainty about which standards to apply given that the agencies themselves had said that leaving the regulations in place would cause equal or greater confusion, and that they had already notified the public of their intent to revise the regulations. It vacated and remanded the regulations.