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 citizen group in a challenge to NMFS' issuance of incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) and a letter of authorization (LOA) to wind developers off the coast of New York and New Jersey. The group argued the IHAs and LOA, which authorize take o...
A district court granted BLM's motion to dismiss a challenge to its approval of 26 applications for permits to drill in Colorado. An environmental group argued BLM's refusal to impose environmental mitigation measures on drill sites located on private land violated the APA and impaired its members' ...
The Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a carbon dioxide pipeline company in a challenge to two Iowa county ordinances that regulate pipelines. The company, which wants to build an interstate pipeline through Iowa, argued the ordinances were preempted by the Pipeline Safety Act (PSA) and Io...
The D.C. Circuit denied environmental groups' challenges to FERC's decision to grant a company's request to extend its construction deadline for a 75-mile extension to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The groups argued FERC's finding of "good cause" to grant the extension and its refusal to revisit its...
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 ...
A district court granted summary judgment for an environmental group in a challenge to FWS' 2023 12-month finding that Joshua trees were not warranted for listing under the ESA for the "foreseeable future." The group argued FWS violated the ESA because it failed to use best available science, i...
A district court temporarily enjoined a land exchange between the U.S. government and a copper mining company concerning 2,422 acres of land in Tonto National Forest. A community group argued the land transfer, which includes a sacred Apache burial ground, would violate its and its members' First an...