Rocky Mountain Helium, LLC v. United States
The Federal Circuit affirmed in part and remanded in part a lower court decision dismissing a helium extraction company's breach of contract claims against the United States. In 1994, the parties entered a contract under which BLM gave the company the right to extract helium gas from roughly 21,000 ...
Sierra Club v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of environmental groups' lawsuit challenging the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's EIS for its updated land use plan. Applying a standard similar to the standard for evaluating an EIS under NEPA, the court held that the EIS and update adequately addressed the lo...
Sierra Club v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The D.C. Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, denied an environmental group's petition for review challenging FERC's approval of a proposed liquefied natural gas project in Texas. The group argued that FERC violated NEPA in its consideration of the projects’ indirect and cumulative effects. But as ...
Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment v. Jewell
The Tenth Circuit upheld a lower court decision denying environmental group's request to preliminarily enjoin the drilling of certain oil and gas wells in the Mancos Shale formation of the San Juan Basin in New Mexico. The groups filed a lawsuit under NEPA challenging 260 drilling permits in the Man...
Murray Energy Corp. v. McCarthy
A district court held that EPA, in connection with its enforcement and implementation of the CAA, failed to adequately evaluate potential job losses, particularly with respect to the coal industry, in violation of CAA §321(a). Section 321(a) requires EPA to “conduct continuing evaluations of pote...