WildEarth Guardians v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
A district court denied summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to FWS' 2015 rule that classified any reestablished black-footed ferret population in Wyoming as a nonessential experimental population. The groups argued FWS' designation of reintroduced ferrets as "nonessential" viola...
Beyond Nuclear, Inc. v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The D.C. Circuit denied environmental groups' petitions to review NRC's denial of their requests to intervene in licensing proceedings for construction and operation of a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in New Mexico. An energy company had applied for a license to construct and operate the facil...
Interconnection Queues: Gatekeeping Renewable Energy
Interconnection queues across the United States prevent renewable energy projects from connecting to the grid because of their years-long backlog. Current procedures are increasing the number of projects that withdraw from the queue and the time it takes for renewable projects to seek approval. This Article examines the recent reforms taken by two regional grid operators, the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection (PJM) and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.
LNG Exports: The Permit Approval Process and the Environmental Impacts
On January 26, 2024, the Biden Administration announced a pause on pending decisions on permits to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to non-free trade agreement countries until the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) updates underlying analyses for the authorizations. The United States is the largest global exporter of LNG, and its exports have rapidly grown over recent years. The pause presents an opportunity to review impacts of increased LNG export, including climate consequences, environmental justice harms, and more.
American Wild Horse Campaign v. Stone-Manning
A district court affirmed BLM's resource management plan (RMP) amendment and record of decision (ROD) concerning wild horse management in southern Wyoming. Conservation and wild horse advocate groups argued BLM's decision to revert two herd management areas to "herd area" status, of which the approp...
Sierra Club v. National Marine Fisheries Service
A district court granted summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to NMFS' biological opinion (BiOp) on the impact of oil and gas extraction in the Gulf of Mexico on protected marine life. The groups argued NMFS violated the APA and the ESA by issuing a flawed BiOp that underestimate...
Wild Fish Conservancy v. Quan
In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court's vacatur of an incidental take statement (ITS) issued by NMFS authorizing a troll fishery in Alaska to harvest Chinook salmon despite potential reduction in prey for the endangered southern resident killer whale, and affirmed its d...