The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act or the Clean Water Act (CWA) in its preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the aerial spraying of pesticide over approximately 628,000 acres of national forests in Oregon and Washin...
The court reverses a state district court and holds that a state agency erred in granting the transfer of a waste transportation company's common carrier certificate to another company in exchange for that company's contract carrier permit plus $50,000. A common carrier certificate allows waste tran...
The Fifth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing an environmental restoration company's lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for building new wetlands without considering whether it should buy mitigation credits from the company. The company, which invests in projects that re...
A district court held that EPA violated the APA by failing to provide notice and opportunity to comment before delaying the effective date of a January 2017 rule concerning the certification and use of “restricted use pesticides." The rule, which was to go into effect on March 6, 2017, established...
A district court dismissed environmental groups' lawsuit against the FDA concerning the use of formaldehyde and formaldehyde-producing chemicals in hair-straightening products. The groups petitioned the FDA to investigate deceptive labeling of such products, require appropriate labeling, and conside...
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 denied motions to dismiss environmental groups' lawsuit challenging Executive Order 13795, “Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy,” which reversed President Obama’s withdrawal of 128 million acres in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from future oil and gas leasi...
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...
A district court granted California cities' motions to remand their climate change tort actions against oil and gas companies back to state court. Although their state law claims raise national and perhaps global questions, they should not have been removed to federal court. Removal based on federal...
The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA's 2012 regional haze rule, which seeks to restore air quality and visibility in certain national parks and wilderness areas to what they would be under natural conditions. The rule requires states to impose best available retrofit technology (BART) on certain stationary p...