A district court vacated an incidental take permit issued by FWS for a transmission line project on a historic section of the Oregon and California Trail in Nebraska. Companies and conservation groups argued that FWS' decision to issue the permit, which allowed for the incidental taking of American ...
A district court stayed the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which substantially narrows the definition of "waters of the United States" that are subject to federal regulation under the CWA, in Colorado. Colorado argued that the Supreme Court's ruling in Rapanos v. United States foreclosed the appr...
A district court denied a motion for preliminary relief in a challenge to the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which substantially narrows the definition of "waters of the United States" that are subject to federal regulation under the CWA. California argued that EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers...
The D.C. Circuit upheld FWS' withdrawal of prior findings for elephant trophy hunting in southern Africa. Conservation groups argued that FWS violated the APA by withdrawing its prior findings without providing notice and comment. The court found that a notice-and-comment period was not required for...
The Sixth Circuit reversed, 2-1, a district court ruling that required the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to comply with the ESA and NEPA before approving an oil pipeline operator's response plans for addressing the risk of a potential oil spill. A conservation group ...
A district court denied a Native American tribe's request to lift a stay in a lawsuit against the Bureau of Reclamation seeking to protect endangered coho salmon from the impacts of an irrigation project in the Klamath River Basin. The tribe asserted that the Bureau failed to comply with the terms o...
A district court denied EPA's motion to dismiss a lawsuit concerning its duty to update its National Contingency Plan (NCP) for addressing oil and hazardous substance contamination. Environmental groups argued that the current NCP is dangerous because it continues to permit the use of chemical dispe...