A district court granted DOI's motion to dismiss a lawsuit concerning tribal water rights on the Crow Reservation in Montana. Tribal members who hold property on the reservation challenged the 2010 Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act (Settlement Act), which provided benefits to the tribe in excha...
Communities around the world are seeking to acknowledge nature’s rights through legal tools and litigation. This Article provides an overview of recent developments in earth law movements, including Rights of Nature, Rights of Rivers, and Ocean Rights, and considers the potential impacts these ecocentric conservation measures could have on Indigenous peoples and local communities.
The Fifth Circuit reversed a district court ruling upholding the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to issue a CWA §404 permit to fill wetlands for a commercial and residential development project in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. Parish residents and environmental groups argued the Corps' decision ...
A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for environmental groups in a CWA/SMCRA citizen suit concerning the discharge of pollutants from surface coal mines in West Virginia. The groups argued a coal mining company violated the CWA by discharging mining pollutants at Rush...
A district court denied in part and dismissed in part two nonprofit groups' challenge to DOE's approval of a freshwater offshore wind project in Lake Erie. The groups argued DOE violated NEPA by failing to prepare an EIS and failing to take a "hard look" at reasonable alternatives and cumulative imp...
The D.C. Circuit denied the state of Utah's motion to stay EPA's 2023 "good neighbor" rule, which aims to ensure that 23 states meet the CAA's good neighbor requirements by reducing ozone-forming emissions of nitrogen oxides from power plants and industrial facilities that contribute to compliance i...
On May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court dropped an absolute bombshell with its ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. Early assessments of Sackett underscore two vital points: much has been lost for wetlands protection, and much has changed with respect to the Court’s broader environmental law jurisprudence. This Comment delves into both of these issues, providing some background on the unique and long-running controversy that was at the heart of Sackett, and parsing the four opinions from the case.
A district court granted summary judgment for several bus companies in a CAA citizen suit alleging that the companies excessively idled their buses in violation of Massachusetts and Connecticut law. The companies moved for summary judgment, asserting the group lacked standing. The court found the co...
The Tenth Circuit, 2-1, granted in part an environmental group's challenge to EPA's approval of a Colorado SIP revision certifying that the state's existing, EPA-approved nonattainment new source review permitting program for the Denver Metro-North Front Range area met the requirements for attaining...
The Fifth Circuit denied environmental groups' petition to review the Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a CWA permit for a proposed liquefied natural gas production and export terminal on the Calcasieu River in Louisiana. The groups argued the Corps failed to adequately consider a particular alte...