The Tenth Circuit upheld a lower court decision denying environmental group's request to preliminarily enjoin the drilling of certain oil and gas wells in the Mancos Shale formation of the San Juan Basin in New Mexico. The groups filed a lawsuit under NEPA challenging 260 drilling permits in the Man...

A district court held that BLM violated NEPA when it issued a FONSI in connection with an energy company's application to drill 16 new gas wells at its natural gas plant in northeastern Utah. Environmental groups alleged that BLM violated NEPA by failing to take a “hard look” at the environmenta...

A district court upheld the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' and FWS' management plan, EIS, and associated permits authorizing the “take,” or killing, of double-crested cormorants in the Columbia River estuary, even though the agencies failed to consider reasonable alternatives other than killing i...

A district court held that BLM failed to take a "hard look" at the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing with regard to the agency's resource management plan (RMP) for public lands in California's central region. Under the resource management plan, 25% of new wells are expected to use hydraul...

The Supreme Court of California held that the state's moratorium on the use of suction dredges to mine gold from rivers was not preempted by federal mining law. The case arose after an individual challenged his conviction for the possession and unpermitted use of a suction dredge. He argued that the...

A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service violated NEPA, the Wilderness Act, and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in connection with its decision to allow drilling, road reconstruction, and the use of motorized vehicles and heavy equipment at the Golden Hand Mine in the Frank Churc...

The Fourth Circuit upheld the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a dredge and fill permit to a surface coal mine. Environmental groups challenged the adequacy of the Corps' environmental review, arguing that the Corps violated NEPA and the CWA by failing to consider evidence that surface coal...

A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service violated NEPA in connection with its approval of the "CuMo" project, a five-year mining exploration project located within the Boise National Forest in Idaho. The Forest Service failed to take a hard look at the project's impacts on the Sacajawea’...

The D.C. Circuit dismissed an environmental group's petition challenging FERC's authorization of an increase in production capacity at a liquefied natural gas terminal in Louisiana. The group argued that FERC failed to consider certain environmental consequences of its authorization in violation of ...

The D.C. Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court decision that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) complied with NEPA and that FWS complied with the ESA in connection with a wind energy project on Nantucket Sound. Environmental groups had filed suit against a number of agencies alleging...