In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit vacated a district court's judgment reinstating a 2016 moratorium on new coal leasing on public lands that was lifted by a DOI secretarial order in 2017. Environmental groups, several states, and a tribe argued BLM's final EA and FONSI violated NEPA. DOI ...

The D.C. Circuit dismissed for mootness a nonprofit group's petition to review FERC's determination that a proposed liquefied natural gas facility in Port St. Joe, Florida, fell outside the Commission's jurisdiction under §3 of the Natural Gas Act. The group's members argued they would suffer econo...

The D.C. Circuit on remand reinstated its prior judgment in a challenge to FERC's issuance of a certificate for construction of a natural gas pipeline through the Appalachian Mountains. Property owners in the proposed path sued the pipeline owner in district court, raising constitutional challenges ...

The Fourth Circuit reversed a district court order abstaining from ruling on constitutional claims brought by mineral interest owners challenging amendments to West Virginia's oil and gas conservation law. Plaintiffs argued the amendments, which for the first time authorized "unitization of interest...

A district court denied an environmental group's motion for summary judgment in a challenge to the Forest Service's approval of a restoration project in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. The group argued the Service violated NEPA and its implementing regulations in designing, analyzing, and implem...

A district court granted the state of Louisiana's request to block EPA and DOJ from imposing disparate impact mandates under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The state argued the agencies were attempting to create disparate impact mandates under Title VI by regulation without having authority to do...

The Eighth Circuit reversed a district court ruling in a challenge to Iowa's "ag gag" law that criminalizes undercover investigations at agricultural production facilities. Initially, the law prohibited the facilities from being accessed under false pretenses as well as prohibited false statements o...

The Fifth Circuit, 2-1, denied petitions to review EPA's 2016 designation of two counties in Texas as nonattainment for the 2010 sulfur dioxide NAAQS. The state of Texas and the owner of a power plant located in one of the counties sought to have the designation vacated, arguing it violated the CAA ...

The Fourth Circuit, 2-1, granted West Virginia's motion to stay EPA's disapproval of its SIP addressing "good neighbor" obligations under the revised 2015 air quality standards for ozone. EPA's disapproval found the state would still contribute significantly to nonattainment or interfere with mainte...

The Third Circuit denied petitions to review FAA's FONSI decision approving construction of a new terminal at an airport in New Jersey. Petitioners argued FAA erroneously determined that the project did not expand the terminal and would not induce air traffic growth, failed to consider the cumulativ...