The D.C. Circuit remanded FERC orders rejecting an Oklahoma city's complaint that a hydroelectric dam overseen by the Commission caused periodic flooding. The city argued that the dam operator violated Article 5 of its license, which FERC had issued under the Federal Power Act, and sought to require...

The D.C. Circuit remanded DOE's 2020 rule that set more stringent energy efficiency standards than those of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers for commercial packaged boilers. Industry groups argued, among other things, that the Department inflated the econ...

The D.C. Circuit dismissed as moot Alaska's challenge to the Forest Service's 2001 Roadless Rule. The challenge centered on the Roadless Rule's impact on the Tongass National Forest, which the USDA exempted from the rule in 2020, but the state argued it should be allowed to proceed because the exemp...

A district court granted summary judgment for the Forest Service in environmental groups' lawsuit concerning federally permitted livestock grazing in Colville National Forest. The groups argued the Service violated NEPA and the National Forest Management Act (NMFA) by failing to adequately assess th...

A state appellate court upheld the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission's (MPUC's) approval of affiliated-interest agreements for construction and operation of a natural gas-fired power plant in Wisconsin. Environmental groups argued substantial evidence did not support MPUC's determinations that t...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part petitions to review the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) order regarding the adequacy of the Commission's guidelines for exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation. Environmental groups argued the FCC violated the APA by failing to acknowledge evidence of n...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part and denied in part a challenge to FERC's orders addressing complaints over the results of a 2015 auction for electrical capacity in Illinois. A public interest group had complained the auction had resulted in electricity rates that were unjust and unreasonable, that ...

A district court temporarily suspended a logging project in grizzly bear habitat in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. An environmental group argued the Forest Service's approval of the project violated NEPA. The court found that the Service's failure to apply the Healthy Forests Restoration Act's...

The Ninth Circuit upheld FERC's denial of an environmental group's motion to intervene in post-licensing deadline extension proceedings for a hydroelectric project in California. The group had argued that FERC violated Rule 214 of the Commission's regulations in denying intervention and §6 of the F...

A district court granted in part and denied in part the city of Berkeley's motion to dismiss a challenge to its recently enacted ordinance affecting the availability of natural gas in new construction within the city. A restaurant group argued the ordinance was federally preempted by the Energy Poli...