Western Watersheds Project v. U.S. Department of the Interior
A district court denied environmental groups' motion to preliminarily enjoin implementation of a BLM-approved watershed restoration project in eastern Nevada. The groups argued BLM violated NEPA by failing to take a "hard look" at the project's impacts, and violated FLPMA by failing to address speci...
Hill v. United States Department of the Interior
A district court granted DOI's motion to dismiss a lawsuit concerning tribal water rights on the Crow Reservation in Montana. Tribal members who hold property on the reservation challenged the 2010 Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act (Settlement Act), which provided benefits to the tribe in excha...
White v. United States Army Corps of Engineers
A district court denied a biologist's motion to preliminarily enjoin flood control releases from the Coyote Valley Dam into the Russian River to protect ESA-listed salmon species. The biologist sought to enjoin the Army Corps of Engineers from making flood control releases unless it determines that ...
Western Watersheds Project v. McKay
In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part summary judgment for the Forest Service and FWS in a challenge to their approval of a cattle grazing project in Oregon. Environmental groups first argued the Service's final EIS failed to take a "hard look" at three i...
Munoz v. Intercontinental Terminals Co., L.L.C.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the operator of a chemical storage facility in a lawsuit concerning the operator's 2019 oil spill into the Houston Ship Channel. Shipping companies that were forced to stop operations after the spill sued the operator, seeking economic loss damages und...