A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service's Public Wheeled Motorized Travel Management Decision for the Eldorado National Forest violated the ESA and the National Forest Management Act. The decision designates specific roads and trails within the forest as open to public motor vehicle ...

The Seventh Circuit denied environmental groups' petitions challenging EPA's approval of revisions to Wisconsin's new source review program. In 2002, EPA changed the rules that determine when polluters need permits in order to modify existing facilities—and, if they need permits, what restrictions...

The Ninth Circuit held that the CAA does not preempt a local air district's adoption and enforcement of rules regulating air emissions from diesel-powered engines. CAA §209(e) expressly prohibits states from setting "standards or other requirements relating to the control of emissions" from no...

A district court held that the FWS' biological opinion (BiOp) for the U.S. Army's proposed ongoing and future operations at Fort Huachuca—a major military installation in southeastern Arizona—violates the ESA and is arbitrary and capricious. The BiOp concluded that the operations will not jeopar...

The Tenth Circuit upheld the dismissal of an environmental group's CAA citizen suit against a power company alleging that it was attempting to build a coal-fired power plant with an invalid PSD permit. The permit provided that if construction did not commence by May 29, 2005, or if construction...

The First Circuit affirmed a lower court decision denying a motion to enjoin Maine state officials from allowing the use of any foothold traps to prevent the incidental take of Canadian lynx, a threatened species. The lower court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion, as the ani...

A district court, on a motion to amend judgment, extended the FWS' deadline for completing its biological opinion (BiOp) for the threatened delta smelt as well as the Bureau of Reclamation's deadline to complete review of the FWS' reasonable and prudent alternative (RPA) under NEPA. In December...

A district court ordered EPA to promulgate emission standards for area source boilers, major source boilers, and commercial and institutional solid waste incineration units by February 21, 2011. In March 2006, the court ordered EPA to fulfill its statutory duties regarding the promulgation o...

The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court decision denying the award of attorney fees to an environmental group in their lawsuit against a town for discharging toxic pollutants into a bay in violation of the CWA. In that case, the court held that the town must apply for an NPDES permit for its harbor...

The Ninth Circuit held that a U.S. Forest Service decision that a proposed mining operation may proceed based on the miner's notice of intent (NOI) does not constitute an "agency action" for purposes of triggering the ESA's interagency consultation obligations. The case involves the Forest Serv...