A district court granted in part and denied in part summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM's) approval of a 2023 offshore oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. The groups argued BOEM's assessment of greenhouse gas emissions, ...
A district court vacated DOI's termination of seven lease agreements with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) for development of oil and gas resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. AIDEA argued DOI deprived it of due process under the Fifth Amendment by canceling...
The Fifth Circuit affirmed denial of summary judgment for two Native American tribes and an environmental group in a challenge to a CWA §404 permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers to expand operations at an oil export terminal on Texas' Gulf Coast. The tribes and group sought to invalidate th...
The Fifth Circuit granted in part and denied in part states' challenges to EPA's disapprovals of SIPs developed in response to the Agency's 2015 decision calling for SIPs to achieve a new ozone NAAQS. Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi argued EPA's disapprovals of their SIPs were arbitrary and capric...
The D.C. Circuit denied environmental groups' challenge to FERC's authorization of a project to build two new natural gas pipelines in southwestern Louisiana. The groups argued FERC violated NEPA by failing to consider the project's effects on upstream greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, failing to dete...
Understanding the nearly impossible task of containing contaminants from Superfund sites, it is imperative to find solutions in anticipation of disasters that scientists project will only increase in magnitude and frequency. This Comment proceeds in six parts. Part I identifies the challenge of increasing natural disasters and their impact at Superfund sites, which are toxic havens. Part II identifies efforts that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies have taken to make Superfund sites more climate-resilient.
This Comment focuses on energy developments offshore. Part I recognizes OCSLA’s purpose of balancing energy needs with protection of marine animals, coastal beaches, and wetlands. Part II discusses examples of presidential use of OCSLA §12(a) authority to protect (withdraw from leasing) portions of the OCS temporarily or permanently, including challenges to President Biden’s recent withdrawal of the East Coast, West Coast, and part of the Gulf of Mexico and Bering Strait from future oil and gas leases.
The Comment shows the importance of EJ and cumulative impact governance coming from municipalities by highlighting a specific case study that has worked: San Francisco.