A district court denied summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to FWS' 2015 rule that classified any reestablished black-footed ferret population in Wyoming as a nonessential experimental population. The groups argued FWS' designation of reintroduced ferrets as "nonessential" viola...

A district court largely upheld BLM's approval of a proposed dolomite mining project near the Florida Mountains in New Mexico. Environmental groups challenged the approval, arguing BLM violated NEPA by failing to adequately consider adverse effects on water, air, wildlife, a wilderness study area, a...

A district court granted an Indian tribe's motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) in a challenge to BLM's approval of a lithium mine exploration project in Arizona. The tribe argued BLM violated the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) when it found that no historical properties were af...

In a per curiam opinion, the D.C. Circuit granted industry groups' petitions and denied environmental groups' petition to review EPA's application of a 2022 rule that classified industrial boilers built after 2010 as "new" rather than "existing" sources of hazardous air pollutants. The industry grou...

A district court affirmed BLM's resource management plan (RMP) amendment and record of decision (ROD) concerning wild horse management in southern Wyoming. Conservation and wild horse advocate groups argued BLM's decision to revert two herd management areas to "herd area" status, of which the approp...

A district court granted summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to NMFS' biological opinion (BiOp) on the impact of oil and gas extraction in the Gulf of Mexico on protected marine life. The groups argued NMFS violated the APA and the ESA by issuing a flawed BiOp that underestimate...

In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court's vacatur of an incidental take statement (ITS) issued by NMFS authorizing a troll fishery in Alaska to harvest Chinook salmon despite potential reduction in prey for the endangered southern resident killer whale, and affirmed its d...

In a per curiam opinion, the D.C. Circuit dismissed in part and denied in part challenges to EPA's 2022 denial of pending Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) exemption petitions filed by small refineries. EPA had determined the only costs relevant to showing economic hardship were those caused by complian...

The D.C. Circuit denied a chemical manufacturer's and two trade groups' petitions to review EPA's 2020 rule regulating emissions from miscellaneous organic chemical manufacturing facilities. The petitioners challenged EPA's assessment of cancer risk from exposure to ethylene oxide emissions. The cou...

A district court granted summary judgment for conservation groups in a challenge to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') recent update to a program concerning the use of pesticides to suppress grasshopper and cricket outbreaks. The groups argued APHIS' 2019 EIS and five state-le...