The Hawaii Supreme Court held that the “right to a clean and healthful environment” as set forth in the Hawaii Constitution gives citizens the right to be heard and protect their environmental interests in cases before the state Public Utilities Commission. A Hawaiian electric company sought the...

A district court held that the California Public Utilities Commission's tariff program for small renewables, known as the Renewable Market Adjusting Tariff (Re-MAT), violates the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). A solar company challenged the Re-MAT program, arguing that the t...

A district court held that the Dakota Access pipeline can continue to operate while the Army Corps of Engineers corrects deficiencies in its EA for the project. In an earlier decision, the court held that the Corps did not adequately consider the consequences of a spill for the plaintiff tribe's fis...

The Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) safety regulations do not apply to contractors, subcontractors or service providers. The case concerned a fatal explosion during "hot work" on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed three workers ...

The Tenth Circuit dismissed a challenge to a DOI rule governing hydraulic fracturing on federal and tribal lands, overturning a lower court ruling. In 2015, BLM finalized a fracking regulation that imposed new well construction, testing requirements, and chemical disclosure requirements, and increas...

The D.C. Circuit held that EPA erred in how it interpreted and used the “inadequate domestic supply” waiver in the Renewable Fuel Standard law when setting low renewable fuel volumes for 2014-2016. In December 2015, EPA promulgated a rule establishing volume requirements and the resulting percen...

A district court abstained from rendering a decision in a case concerning earthquakes allegedly caused by fracking operations in Oklahoma, choosing to instead defer to the expertise of a state commission. An environmental group brought suit against the energy company claiming that its fracking opera...

A district court upheld the Delaware River Basin Commission's fracking ban against a challenge from a energy company. Upon the Commission's creation, it was codified that no project that had a substantial effect on the water resources of the basin would be undertaken without the Commission's approva...

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled against the state Oil and Gas Commission's narrow interpretation of its authority to readjust the balance of state oil and gas conservation regulations between the development of oil and gas resources and protection of public health, safety, and welfare. In Novemb...