A district court denied a motion to preliminarily enjoin construction of a power transmission line through the Western Maine Mountains. Environmental groups challenged the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to issue a CWA/Rivers and Harbors Act permit for the line without preparing an EIS, arguing th...
A district court denied motions to preliminarily enjoin BLM from issuing oil and gas leases and authorizing seismic activity in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Indigenous and environmental groups argued that BLM violated, among other statutes, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act...
New oil and gas pipeline construction is increasingly controversial, with environmental and indigenous groups warning of leaks and spills, increased reliance on fossil fuels, and infringement upon indigenous land. Recent setbacks to three projects—the Dakota Access Pipeline, Keystone XL Pipeline, and Atlantic Coast Pipeline—reflect shifting legal, economic, and policy pressures facing new construction. On September 30, 2020, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts who explored the emerging challenges facing oil and gas pipelines and discussed their future.
The Montana Supreme Court affirmed in part a ruling that granted summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality's (MDEQ's) approval of an exploration license for mining on private land north of Yellowstone National Park. The groups argued ...
A district court remanded BLM's authorization and issuance of 59 leases of public land in the Uinta Basin for oil and gas exploration. Conservation groups challenged BLM's decision on several NEPA grounds and sought to have it vacated. The court found that the agency took an appropriately hard look ...
The Ninth Circuit vacated the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM’s) approval of an offshore drilling and production facility in the Beaufort Sea. Environmental groups argued that BOEM violated NEPA by arbitrarily and capriciously estimating the environmental consequences of the alternativ...
The Fifth Circuit, 2-1, affirmed in part and reversed in part a ruling enjoining the Trump Administration from using military funds to build portions of a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. El Paso County and a nonprofit group argued that the president's proposed plan for funding border barri...