The D.C. Circuit held that FWS did not violate the ESA by removing the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel from the list of endangered species even though several criteria in the agency's recovery plan for the species had not been satisfied. The FWS Secretary reasonably interpreted the ESA as not...

A district court held that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is liable for damages to property owners and residents following a containment dike failure at its Kingston Fossil plant that spilled more than 5 million cubic yards of coal ash sludge over approximately 300 acres. The court determined ...

The Ninth Circuit upheld FWS regulations issued under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) that authorize the incidental take of polar bears and Pacific walruses resulting from oil and gas exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea and on the adjacent coast of Alaska. MMPA §101(a)(5)(A) requires ...

The First Circuit upheld an individual's conviction for illegally trafficking in sperm whale teeth and narwhal tusks in violation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). The individual argued that the lower court should have instructed the jury...

The Supreme Court of Hawaii vacated and remanded the interim instream flow standards set by Hawaii's Commission on Water Resource Management for the Waihe'e River and the Waiehu, 'Iao, and Waikapu streams, collectively referred to as Na Wai 'Eha, or "the four great waters of Maui." In considering th...