A district court denied a motion to dismiss a challenge to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's failure to notify the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) of a significant change to the state's special reclamation fund. Environmental groups argued that t...
A district court denied environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to two mining-related rules issued by BLM. The groups argued that the 2008 Mining Claim Rule violated the General Mining Law and FLPMA by improperly restricting the application of FLPMA's fair market-value manda...
A district court struck down BLM's 2016 rule promulgating new regulations to reduce natural gas waste during oil and gas production activities on federal land and Indian leases. States argued that the rule exceeded BLM's statutory authority and was otherwise arbitrary and capricious. The court found...
International environmental law (IEL) has developed widely since the first global meeting in Stockholm in 1972. Accounts estimate that there are more than 500 multilateral environmental treaties (MEAs). However, the predicted future shows that current global environmental policy efforts are undeniably insufficient. IEL’s prevailing anthropocentric ethic has directly contributed to the crisis, suppressing the symptoms rather than treating them.
A district court vacated the Trump Administration's rescission of the Obama Administration's Waste Prevention Rule, which was enacted to reduce methane waste from oil and gas operations on public and tribal lands. California, New Mexico, and environmental groups argued the rescission violated the AP...
It is now scientifically proven that climate change is causing disruptions to the world at large. These slow-motion consequences threaten most coastal areas around the world, especially the Pacific Island nations. Scientists predict that climate change will cause the forced displacement of people; desertification; protracted destructive wildfires; sea-level rise; ocean acidification; extreme weather events; and severe drought, which then impacts the supply of food.
The U.S. Supreme Court held, 7-2, that the Forest Service had authority under the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) to issue a special use permit that granted a right-of-way for a segment of a natural gas pipeline to be constructed beneath the Appalachian Trail in George Washington National Forest. Environm...