NMFS announced a 90-day finding that a petition to list the whitespotted eagle ray as a threatened or endangered species and to designate critical habitat concurrent with the listing does not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted.
FWS announced the updated planning policies for the National Wildlife Refuge System to incorporate landscape conservation plans and consideration of climate change and other anthropogenic forces in refuge management.
EPA announced the availability of and seeks comment on an update to the interim guidance on the destruction and disposal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and materials containing PFAS; the updated guidance builds on information pertaining to technologies that may be feasible and appropriate for the destruction or disposal of PFAS and PFAS-containing materials, and identifies key data gaps and uncertainties that must be resolved before EPA can issue more definitive recommendations about PFAS destruction and disposal technologies.
NMFS announced its intent to conduct a five-year review of the endangered western distinct population segment of the Steller sea lion.
EPA adopted FWS' categorical exclusion for restoration activities of wetland, riparian, instream, and native habitats under NEPA to use in certain water grants and loan programs administered by the Agency.
A district court granted in part and denied in part animal rights groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to BLM's recent roundup of wild horses at the Pancake Complex in eastern Nevada. The groups argued BLM violated the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WHA) by failing to approve...
A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for an animal rights group in a lawsuit concerning BLM's adoption of four 10-year management plans for controlling wild horse populations in certain herd management areas. The group argued BLM exceeded its statutory authority under...
The Fifth Circuit denied environmental groups' petition to review DOT's approval of a license to construct and operate a large deepwater oil facility off the Texas coast. The groups argued the final EIS applied a "flawed" alternatives analysis and "grossly underestimated" the facility's environmenta...
The D.C. Circuit denied an environmental group's petitions to review FERC's decision to grant time extensions for two developers to complete natural gas pipeline projects. The group argued FERC was too permissive in finding "good cause" to grant the extensions. The court found FERC followed its reas...
United States v. Flint Hills Resources Ingleside, LLC, No. 2:24-cv-00079 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 8, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, a settling CWA and OPA defendant that allegedly discharged about 14,000 gallons of crude oil that spilled into Corpus Christi Bay from a ruptured pipe on a dock at the defendant's crude oil storage terminal in Ingleside, Texas, must pay a total of $989,212.80.