The First Circuit upheld the dismissal of a developer's federal takings claim against two state agencies for restricting its development of a coastal residential subdivision in Rhode Island. In Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City, 473 U.S. 172 (19...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part a lower court decision largely granting summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Forest Service on environmental groups' and California's NEPA and NFMA claims challenging the agency's 2004 Sierra Nevada forest plan amendment and a timber harve...

A district court reinstated the roadless area conservation rule to the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska. The court previously ruled on motions for summary judgment that a U.S. Forest Service rule exempting the Tongass from the roadless rule's prohibitions was arbitrary and capricious. ...

A California court ordered the California Air Resources Board to set aside its "functional equivalent document" and scoping plan to reduce greenhouse gases as it relates to cap and trade. The court ruled that the board inadequately described and analyzed project alternatives in violation of the...

The Eighth Circuit held that the U.S. Forest Service's revised forest plan for the Superior National Forest complied with NEPA. The environmental groups that filed the suit have standing, given the immediate, concrete consequences for the recreational interests of specific visitors to the Su...

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The Ninth Circuit held that BLM and the U.S. Forest Service did not violate the CWA, NEPA, or the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in approving a proposed mine expansion project in the Caribou National Forest. After evaluating the data, the agencies determined that remediation efforts w...

The Ninth Circuit held that BLM and the U.S. Forest Service did not violate the CWA, NEPA, or the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in approving a proposed mine expansion project in the Caribou National Forest. After evaluating the data, the agencies determined that remediation efforts w...

A district court held that FWS complied with NEPA when it approved the opening and expansion of sport hunting in 60 National Wildlife Refuges. Between 1997 and 2005, the FWS issued nine final rules creating or expanding recreational hunting opportunities on 60 wildlife refuges. In 2006, a court...

The D.C. Circuit denied a petition for review challenging EPA's decision granting California a waiver from federal preemption under the CAA that allows the state to implement its own regulations requiring automobile manufacturers to reduce fleet-average greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicl...