Managing Threats to Beaches From Storms and Rising Seas
More severe storms and rising sea levels resulting from the changing climate pose a threat to ecosystems along the U.S. coast. These include beaches, dunes, wetlands, and marshes, which provide significant environmental, recreational, and economic benefits. Practices to sustain these ecosystems are available, but are not well understood, face legal and financial obstacles, and have not been widely implemented. On January 25, 2023, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts who explored measures and practices for sustaining beaches and dunes in the face of a changing climate.
Center for Environmental Health v. Inhance Technologies USA
A district court granted a plastics company's request to dismiss a lawsuit concerning its production of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Environmental groups argued the company violated TSCA and its implementing regulations by producing PFAS without appropriate EPA approvals. The company ...
North Dakota v. United States Department of Interior
A district court granted in part and denied in part North Dakota's motion for preliminary injunction in a lawsuit concerning BLM's "pause" on nearly all quarterly lease sales of federal land in the state for oil and gas exploration in 2021 and 2022. North Dakota argued the "pause" or "cancellation" ...
Center for Environmental Health v. Regan
A district court granted EPA's motion to dismiss nonprofit groups' challenge to the Agency's response to their TSCA petition requesting comprehensive health and environmental effects testing on 54 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured by a company in North Carolina. EPA granted the...
Great Basin Resource Watch v. United States Department of the Interior
A district court granted in part and denied in part environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to BLM's second approval of a proposed open pit mine in Nevada. The groups argued BLM failed to adequately protect federal water reserves within the mine area; violated NEPA by failin...
Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic v. Bureau of Land Management
A district court denied environmental groups' motions to preliminarily enjoin construction on an oil project in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve. One of the groups argued BLM violated NEPA and the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act (NPRPA) by failing to consider a reasonable range of alterna...