A district court preliminarily enjoined BLM from enforcing its hydraulic fracturing rule for federal and Native American lands. Various industry, state, and Native American petitioners challenged the rule, arguing that BLM exceeded its authority in promulgating the regulations, and the court agreed....
A district court upheld Oregon's clean fuels program, which seeks to reduce lifecycle emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from transportation fuels by 10% over a 10-year period. Trade associations argued that the program was unconstitutional because it discriminates against out-of-state commerce. Bu...
The Third Circuit vacated and remanded EPA's approval of Pennsylvania's 2014 regional haze SIP. CAA §169A requires states to evaluate the impact that emissions from certain sources of pollution within their borders have on atmospheric visibility in national parks and wilderness areas, known as Clas...
A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service violated NEPA when it categorically excluded from environmental review a mining company's proposed mineral exploration plan in the Coronado National Forest. The Forest Service categorically excluded the project because it concluded that the project ...
The Ninth Circuit upheld the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA's) approval of a Native American tribe's plan to harvest 268 acres of timber in the Coquille Forest in southwest Oregon. An environmental group challenged the approval, arguing that BIA failed to adequately consider the cumulative environme...
The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Forest Service's continued authorization of a 6-foot-tall Jesus statue on national forest land overlooking a northwestern Montana ski resort does not violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The statue, known as "Big Mountain Jesus," was placed ...
The Fifth Circuit reversed an oil company's convictions for violating the CAA and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) in connection with its wastewater treatment system at its Corpus Christi refinery. The company was convicted for knowingly operating two uncovered tanks as oil-water separators without ...
The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court decision dismissing an environmental group's ESA lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service concerning the agency's approval of suction dredge mining projects in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Because the Forest provides designated critical habitat fo...
The Seventh Circuit upheld EPA's approval of revisions to Illinois' SIP, thereby rejecting challenges raised by Indiana. Indiana argued that the relaxation of Illinois' vehicle emissions testing program will decrease the likelihood that the Chicago area—which includes two Indiana counties—will a...