A district court dismissed groups' NEPA and CWA claims against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in connection with its approval of a 17-mile transmission line across the James River near historic Jamestown, Virginia. The Corps took a "hard look" at the project and properly determined that no EIS was...

The D.C. Circuit held that a mining company must exhaust its administrative remedies before it can challenge potential claims filed against it under the Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA). The BLBA grants coal miners the right to monthly benefits payments from a former employer in the event they suffer ...

A district court upheld a surface coal mining permit issued to a company even though the cotenant objected to any mining on the property. The company cotenant conveyed the right to enter and surface mine coal to an affiliate, but the other cotenant did not consent to surface mining. Nevertheless, th...

A district court held that BLM violated NEPA by failing to adequately consider climate change in the resource management plans (RMPs) for Buffalo, Wyoming, and Miles City, Montana, both located within the coal-rich Powder River Basin. BLM's EISs failed to consider any alternative that would decrease...

The Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing residents' NEPA lawsuit against the National Park Service (NPS) concerning its approval of a scenic trailway through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. One of the alternative routes for the trailway, which NPS proposed...

A district court upheld the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS') decision to waive the legal requirements of NEPA, ESA, and CZMA for two border wall construction projects in San Diego, California. DHS made its waiver determination under §102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant ...

The D.C. Circuit denied environmentalists' attempt to challenge an NRC decision to issue a uranium mining license in Wyoming. The mining company sought a license from NRC to mine uranium at the Ross Project in Crook County, Wyoming. NRC conducted an EIS and granted the license. Environmental groups ...

The Fourth Circuit denied a coal company's petition to review an ALJ decision that found that a widow was entitled to survivorship benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act. The coal miner in question worked in coal mines for 34 years, was a regular smoker, and retired in 1993. He developed serious...

The D.C. Circuit denied a environmental group's petition to review a FERC decision allowing the transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Freeport Terminal in Texas. In 2011, an energy company requested permission for daily exports of LNG out of Freeport. FERC granted the application, findin...

A district court halted the expansion of a Montana coal mine approved by the Surface Mining Enforcement Office for violations of NEPA. In 2008, a coal company requested approval of a mine expansion in the Bull Mountains to extract coal owned by the federal government. In 2011, BLM prepared an EA to ...