A California court held that federal mining law preempts a state law that effectively bans the use of any vacuum or suction dredge mining in streams and rivers on federal lands. Under Cal. Fish & Game Code §5653, the use of any vacuum or suction dredge equipment by any person in any river strea...

The Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit brought under the Alien Tort Statute and California tort law against a petroleum company alleging it should be held liable for war crimes committed by members of the Colombian National Army’s 18th Brigade. The action was brought by th...

The Tenth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part a lower court decision granting a Utah county rights-of-way over 12 roads that cross federal lands. The county sought to quiet title to 15 roads or road segments under the Quiet Title Act. The county asserted rights-of-way under §...

The Ninth Circuit dismissed an oil company's Declaratory Judgment Act lawsuit against several environmental groups, seeking a declaration that the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s approval of two oil spill response plans under OPA for Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas did not vi...

The Ohio Supreme Court held that a mineral rights owner may be able to strip mine portions of a state wildlife area. The state and the mineral rights owner entered a contract granting the owner “all mineral rights, including rights of ingress and egress and reasonable surface right privileges.” ...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a Native American tribe's claim that DOI violated the APA in refusing to approve the tribe’s assignments of land to certain of its members. The tribe submitted the land assignment deeds to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for approval ...