The Sixth Circuit held that a group of residents lacked standing to challenge the TVA's implementation of a land management plan for a nearby reservoir under NEPA and the Tennessee Valley Authority Act. The residents failed to connect the procedural harm alleged in their complaint—the creation of ...

The Tenth Circuit reversed a lower court decision denying a railroad company's motion to intervene in the United State's CERCLA §107 action against 44 PRPs concerning a hazardous waste site owned by the railroad company. The government lodged a consent decree memorializing a settlement agreement th...

A district court approved a bankruptcy reorganization plan requiring a mining company to pay $1.79 billion to fund past and future environmental cleanup and restoration costs incurred by federal and state agencies at more than 80 sites in 19 states. The court approved the plan submitted by the gover...

A district court held that an insurance company has a duty to defend the former owners and operators of a nuclear waste facility in EPA's CERCLA action against them for remediation costs associated with the site. The policy contained an endorsement that excluded coverage for environmental cleanup co...

A district court halted a timber sale in roadless areas of the Tongass National Forest pending the U.S. Forest Service's preparation of a supplemental EIS (SEIS). The Forest Service's failure to take a hard look of the significant changes in public costs and revenues for the timber sale and its fail...

The Ninth Circuit held that environmental groups were not prevailing parties in their action against BLM in which they sought a preliminary injunction against a timber sale and, thus, are not entitled to attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. BLM withdrew its challenged decision to con...

A district court held that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not preempt a Native American tribe's state-law claims for natural resource damages against successor entities of various mining companies. While the tribe may not use common law and CE...

A district court ordered the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to maintain or enhance existing and potential populations of the sage grouse, pygmy rabbit, and slickspot peppergrass on a 1.4-million acre tract of BLM land and to ensure that wildlife goals and watershed needs are satisfied prior to allo...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) approval of a state implementation plan revision that aims to reduce particulate matter (PM) emissions from agricultural sources in San Joaquin Valley, California. The revision comports with Clean Air Act (CAA) §§179 and 1...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the U.S. Forest Service's approval of nine timber sale and restoration projects in Montana's Kootenai National Forest. The Forest Service complied with the substantive requirements of the National Forest Management Act and the associated forest plan. Conservation groups chal...