Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management
A district court granted environmental groups' motions for summary judgment in a challenge to BLM's 2017 determination that it did not need to authorize a proposed water pipeline project in southern California because the project fell within the scope of a right-of-way granted to a railroad company ...
Center for Biological Diversity v. Ilano
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a summary judgment for the U.S. Forest Service in a challenge to the Service's designation of at-risk forest lands and its approval of a project aimed to address spreading pine-beetle infestation in previously designated at-risk areas in Tahoe National Forest. Environmenta...
Sawtooth Mountain Ranch LLC v. United States Forest Service
A magistrate judge declined to preliminarily enjoin the U.S. Forest Service from constructing a recreational trail across private property located in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The property owners argued the Service's decision to proceed via a categorical exclusion was in violation of NE...
Birckhead v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The D.C. Circuit denied a petition to review FERC's decision authorizing the construction and operation of a new natural gas compression facility in Tennessee. Landowners and business owners argued that FERC violated NEPA by failing to adequately evaluate alternatives to the facility. The court disa...
National Parks Conservation Ass'n v. Semonite
The D.C. Circuit granted in part the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' and a power company's request to reconsider a prior court order that vacated a permit for a 17-mile transmission line after finding the Corps failed to prepare an EIS for the line in violation of NEPA. The Corps and power company arg...
Applications for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed NorthMet Project
In an unpublished opinion, a state appellate court upheld the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' decision denying a request for the preparation of a supplemental EIS for a proposed copper-nickel-platinum group elements mine. Environmental groups challenged the Department's determination that...
Friends of the Wild Swan v. Kehr
In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a summary judgment for the U.S. Forest Service in a challenge to its proposed logging project in Flathead National Forest. Environmental groups argued that the Service violated the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and NEPA by failing to ensu...