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...
The Fifth Circuit reversed a lower court decision that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must bear all the costs of deauthorizing the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO), instead holding that the Corps' cost-sharing formula with the state of Louisiana was reasonable. The Corps has completed buildin...
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court decision upholding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 2012 decision to issue a general nationwide permit—NWP 21—authorizing discharges from certain coal mining activities into navigable waters. The 2012 version of NWP 21 contains two new provisions, a g...
The Ninth Circuit upheld BLM's proposal to expand access for off-road vehicle use in the Imperial Sand Dunes Special Recreation Management Area. The Dunes, located in California, are home to two threatened species: the desert tortoise and the Peirson's milkvetch. Under the proposed plan, a 26,098-ac...
The Ninth Circuit held that NMFS may collect cost recovery fees for the Pacific groundfish fishery from individual members of the Pacific whiting catcher-processing sector, but that NMFS’ calculation of the 2014 cost recovery fee for that sector was inconsistent with its own regulation. Under the ...
A district court ordered EPA to promulgate revised water quality standards for Washington state by September 15, 2016, or, in the alternative, by November 15, 2016, if the state submits its own water quality standards by September 15. A key factor in determining the requisite water quality standards...
The Second Circuit affirmed a district court decision holding that an $8.646 billion judgment granted by an Ecuadorian court for pollution in the Amazon was procured by bribery, coercion, and fraud and enjoining an attorney and two of his Ecuadorian clients from seeking to enforce the judgment in th...
The Seventh Circuit denied petitions for review challenging two DOE rules aimed at improving the energy efficiency of commercial refrigeration equipment. The first rule adopted new energy efficiency standards for commercial refrigeration equipment, and the second rule, issued a month later, clarifie...
The Ninth Circuit upheld NMFS' 2013 quota regulations for Pacific whiting. NMFS calculated the amount of fish harvesters' and fish processors' initial share of the total allowable catch based on their participation in the fishery prior to 2003 and 2004, respectively. A fish harvester and fish proces...
The D.C. Circuit held that FWS violated NEPA when it issued an incidental take permit for the Indiana bat, an endangered species, in connection with a wind farm project in Ohio. Because the farm may pose a danger to the bat, the developer applied for an incidental take permit and submitted a conserv...