The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not violate the CWA or NEPA when it issued a dredge and fill permit necessary for a mineral sands mining project near Coos Bay, Oregon. An environmental group argued that the Corps should have prepared an EIS, rather than an EA and FON...

The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of environmental groups' lawsuit challenging BLM's decision to lease two tracts of land in the Wyoming Powder River Basin for coal mining. The groups argued that BLM failed to adequately consider several environmental concerns, including the increase in local ...

The North Dakota Supreme Court held that the state owns the mineral interests under the shore zone of the Missouri River, which cuts through the oil-rich Bakken Shale region. Under the equal footing doctrine, the state's title to the beds of navigable waters extends from high watermark to high water...

A California appellate court, in an unpublished opinion, upheld San Francisco's ban on the use of plastic "checkout bags" by retail establishments in the city and county. A group of plastic bag manufacturers and distributors filed suit, arguing that the ban violates the California Environmental Qual...

A district court dismissed Native American and environmental groups' CAA citizen suit asking the court to order EPA to issue a final rule that establishes best available retrofit technology (BART) for the Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant in northern Arizona near the Grand Canyon. ...

The D.C. Circuit dismissed Arizona's objection to a consent decree that established a timeline for EPA to approve a SIP, or promulgate a federal implementation plan (FIP), that would meet the requirements of the Regional Haze Rule. A lower court held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the objection...