The Ninth Circuit reversed a dismissal of a lawsuit brought by conservation groups to enjoin USDA from killing gray wolves in Idaho pending additional NEPA analysis. The groups argued before the district court that the agency violated NEPA by failing to prepare an EIS on its wolf management activiti...
A district court stayed a constitutional challenge to the Washington Department of Ecology's decision to deny a coal company a CWA §401 certification for construction of a coal export facility along the Columbia River. The company argued that the Department violated the Commerce Clause by denying t...
The Fifth Circuit vacated portions of a 2015 EPA rule that set new effluent limitation guidelines (ELGs) for legacy wastewater and combustion residual leachate that are discharged from steam electric power plants. Environmental groups argued that the Agency arbitrarily set the ELGs using an older, l...
A district court granted in part a challenge to DOI's decision to lift a 2016 moratorium on new coal leasing on public lands. States and environmental groups argued that DOI's decision to lift the moratorium constituted a major federal action subject to NEPA review, and requested that the court orde...
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that upheld the U.S. Forest Service's management plan to protect the San Isabel and White River National Forests from insects, disease, and fire, improve wildlife habitat, and maintain watershed conditions. A conservation group argued that the Fores...
A state high court affirmed a lower court's summary judgment for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in a challenge to the Department's issuance of a NPDES general permit for discharges from municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s). An environmental group challenged the permit, argu...
In an unpublished opinion, the Tenth Circuit vacated a district court's order enjoining BLM's Waste Prevention Rule, which restricted the venting and flaring of natural gas wells, pending finalization of a replacement rule that was undergoing public notice and comment. California, New Mexico, and en...