The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of environmental groups' lawsuit challenging BLM's decision to lease two tracts of land in the Wyoming Powder River Basin for coal mining. The groups argued that BLM failed to adequately consider several environmental concerns, including the increase in local ...

The North Dakota Supreme Court held that the state owns the mineral interests under the shore zone of the Missouri River, which cuts through the oil-rich Bakken Shale region. Under the equal footing doctrine, the state's title to the beds of navigable waters extends from high watermark to high water...

A California appellate court, in an unpublished opinion, upheld San Francisco's ban on the use of plastic "checkout bags" by retail establishments in the city and county. A group of plastic bag manufacturers and distributors filed suit, arguing that the ban violates the California Environmental Qual...

A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service did not act arbitrarily or capriciously when it approved a project intended to improve conditions in the Little Slate Creek watershed in the Nez Perce National Forest. The project would seek to improve the watershed through aquatic habitat restorati...

A California appellate court, in an unpublished opinion, dismissed residents' lawsuit challenging a city's decision not to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for a proposed mixed-use commercial and residential project. The residents mai...

A district court dismissed a complaint challenging DOI's approval of the Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility Project, a utility-scale wind power project in the Sonoran Desert in Imperial County, California, under NEPA and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The purpose and need statement set forth in BL...

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing environmental groups' claim that the U.S. Navy and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) violated NEPA, the ESA, and the APA in deciding to install and operate an undersea warfare training range in waters adjacent to the only kno...

The Ninth Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, affirmed a lower court decision denying an environmental group's motion to preliminarily enjoin the construction of a railroad extension in Alaska. The group was not likely to succeed on its claim that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers erred in issuing a ...

The Third Circuit affirmed a lower court decision vacating a 2009 settlement agreement between the U.S. Forest Service and environmental groups that banned oil and gas drilling in the Allegheny National Forest pending the completion of a multi-year, forestwide EIS under NEPA. The lower court had pre...

A district court held that BLM complied with NEPA and FLPMA when it authorized a uranium mining project in south central Wyoming. BLM, in conjunction with other state and federal agencies, undertook extensive and exhaustive reviews of the potential environmental impacts of the project, and the agenc...