ELR Citation: 53 ELR 20042
No(s). 2:21-cv-01955-KJM-KJ (E.D. Cal. Mar 8, 2023) (Mueller, J.)

A district court denied summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to the Forest Service's approval of a proposed mining exploration project on public land in the eastern Sierra Nevadas. The groups argued the Service violated NEPA by relying on two categorical exclusions—for mineral investigations and habitat improvement—that do not cover the project, and that its assessment was arbitrary and capricious because the project would have significant effects on the sage-grouse population and the endangered chub. The court found the Service reasonably concluded the project fit within the two categorical exclusions, and that it was reasonable in relying on them. It denied summary judgment for the groups, and granted it for the Forest Service.