The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part summary judgment for BLM in challenges to approval of an oil and gas project in the northern Arctic. Environmental groups argued BLM failed to consider a reasonable range of alternatives as required under NEPA, its mandate to protect surface re...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part summary judgment for BLM in challenges to approval of an oil and gas project in the northern Arctic. Environmental groups argued BLM failed to consider a reasonable range of alternatives as required under NEPA, its mandate to protect surface re...

A district court denied summary judgment for a company that owns and manages Iowa farmland in a lawsuit concerning a federal wetland conservation law known as Swampbuster. The company challenged the program, which disqualifies one from receiving USDA farm benefits if they convert certified wetl...

A district court reversed its prior dismissal of a challenge to four BLM leasing decisions concerning federal land in Utah. An environmental group had argued BLM violated NEPA and the ESA by failing to fully analyze the environmental, social, direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the lessees' ...

The U.S. Supreme Court, 8-0, held that the D.C. Circuit failed to afford the Surface Transportation Board the substantial deference NEPA requires in a challenge to the Board's authorization of a new 88-mile rail line in the Uinta Basin, and that the court incorrectly interpreted NEPA to require the ...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part summary judgment for the Forest Service in a challenge to approval of a forest thinning project in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. A conservation group argued the Service was required under NEPA to repeat the public comment process after a ...

The Fifth Circuit, 2-1, reversed a district court's summary judgment for the State Department in a FOIA lawsuit seeking records related to the Department's efforts to support the 2030 emissions reduction target in the Paris Agreement. A nonprofit group submitted a 10-part FOIA request, seeking ...

A district court granted environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to BLM's approval of a commercial logging project on federal land in Oregon. The groups argued BLM violated NEPA by failing to take a "hard look" at the environmental impacts and failing to prepare an EIS. The ...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part summary judgment for USDA's Wildlife Services in a challenge to the authorization of a predator damage and conflict management program in Nevada wilderness areas. Environmental groups argued the program violated the Wilderness Act because p...

The D.C. Circuit denied environmental groups' petitions to review DOE's authorization of a project to export from Alaska to non-free trade countries up to 20 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per annum for 30 years. The groups argued DOE misconceived the "public interest" and failed...