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...
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 Tenth Circuit reversed a district court finding of a CWA violation in a citizen suit brought against the operator of a gold mine in Colorado. Plaintiffs argued the operator violated the CWA because seepage from the mine's settling ponds flowed into the groundwater and then migrated to the Middle...
The Fifth Circuit vacated a district court ruling in a decades-long dispute over whether a property in Louisiana contains federally regulated wetlands. The property owner sued the Army Corps of Engineers, arguing its determination that the property contained federal regulated wetlands was arbitrary ...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for an environmental group in a suit against a California resident who engaged in instream suction dredge mining in Idaho’s South Fork Clearwater River without an NPDES permit. The group argued the resident violated the CWA each time he operated a suctio...
The Fifth Circuit, 2-1, granted six small refineries' petitions to review an EPA decision denying their requested exemptions from obligations under the CAA Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The refineries challenged two actions—EPA's denial of 36 petitions from 36 small refineries seeking exe...
A district court denied the city of New Orleans' motion to remand to state court its lawsuit against oil companies for allegedly damaging coastal wetlands with their operations. The city initially sued the companies in state court, arguing they violated the Louisiana State and Local Coastal Resource...
The Fifth Circuit vacated the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's (TCEQ's) order granting a PSD permit for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Texas. An environmental group petitioned for review, arguing TCEQ erred by not imposing the same emissions limits for carbon monoxide and n...