The Fourth Circuit upheld the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a dredge and fill permit to a surface coal mine. Environmental groups challenged the adequacy of the Corps' environmental review, arguing that the Corps violated NEPA and the CWA by failing to consider evidence that surface coal...
A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service violated NEPA in connection with its approval of the "CuMo" project, a five-year mining exploration project located within the Boise National Forest in Idaho. The Forest Service failed to take a hard look at the project's impacts on the Sacajawea’...
The D.C. Circuit dismissed an environmental group's petition challenging FERC's authorization of an increase in production capacity at a liquefied natural gas terminal in Louisiana. The group argued that FERC failed to consider certain environmental consequences of its authorization in violation of ...
The D.C. Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court decision that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) complied with NEPA and that FWS complied with the ESA in connection with a wind energy project on Nantucket Sound. Environmental groups had filed suit against a number of agencies alleging...
The D.C. Circuit dismissed environmental groups' petition challenging FERC's decision authorizing a liquefied natural gas company to redesign its terminal in Texas to support export operations. The groups argued that FERC's analysis of the proposal’s impact on the environment violated NEPA. But to...
A district court ordered EPA to impose a "good neighbor” federal implementation plan (FIP) for Texas with respect to the 1997 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) NAAQS. In 2015, the D.C. Circuit invalidated portions of EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which included a FIP addressing interstate tr...
The D.C. Circuit denied several states', environmental groups', and Native Americans' petitions for review challenging an NRC rule and generic EIS concerning the continued, and possibly indefinite, storage of spent fuel from nuclear power plants in the United States. The petitioners argued that NRC ...
The Ninth Circuit upheld BLM's decision to grant a right-of-way allowing a wind energy project to be built and operated on federal lands in southeast San Diego County. Community groups argued that BLM violated NEPA, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act i...
A district court dismissed on summary judgment environmental groups' lawsuit against a mining company for alleged SIP violations as it relates to NAAQS for coarse particular matter (PM10). Under the Utah SIP's "material moved" provision for PM10, total material moved (ore and waste) may not exceed 1...