A district court granted an environmental group's motion for preliminary injunction in a challenge to FWS' alleged allowance of commercial horseshoe crab harvesting in the Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge. The group argued the Service violated the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act (Refuge I...
A district court denied a Native American tribe's request to limit water releases from the Upper Klamath Lake to protect two endangered sucker fish species. The tribe argued that the Bureau of Reclamation's plan to regulate water in the Klamath Basin violated the ESA by allowing the lake's water lev...
A district court denied environmental groups' motion to intervene in a lawsuit concerning the president's Executive Order pausing new oil and gas lease sales on public lands. The groups maintained that their interests might not be adequately represented by the existing parties, arguing that although...
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's partial grant of summary judgment for cattle ranchers in a challenge to the Forest Service's decision to apply 1995 riparian mitigation measures to an allotment in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The ranchers argued that the Service's decision ...
In an unpublished opinion, the Fourth Circuit upheld the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant Maryland a CWA §404 permit for a mass transportation project. An environmental group and state residents argued that the Corps granted the permit without considering alternatives other than the optio...
The Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower court ruling reversing a permit to mine and dam-safety permits for a copper-nickel mine in Minnesota. Environmental groups and a Native American tribe challenged the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' (MDNR's) issuance...
The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed an appellate court ruling that held the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission erred by approving affiliated-interest agreements for construction and operation of a power plant in a neighboring state without first considering whether environmental review was neces...
A district court dismissed a RCRA citizen suit brought against present and former owners of chemical plants for allegedly releasing radioactive slag deposited on landowners' properties in New York. The landowners sought injunctive relief under RCRA, including ordering the plant owners to evaluate ea...
The Tenth Circuit denied a company's petition to review an Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) decision denying its petition to review a 2017 permit issued by EPA to an upstream wastewater treatment plant. In its petition, the company argued the permit constituted backsliding under the CWA, particular...
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a Native American tribe's breach of trust claim in a lawsuit concerning water rights to the Colorado River. The tribe initially sued DOI, arguing the Department violated NEPA and breached its trust obligations based on its management of the ...