The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, denied environmental groups' petition to review the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA's) decision setting power rates for the 2022-2023 fiscal period. The groups argued BPA violated the Northwest Power Act (NWPA) by setting rates that failed to comply with its duty to pr...
The Sixth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit concerning a dam collapse in Michigan. Property owners who live downstream of the dam argued the U.S. government negligently entrusted operation of the dam to an unfit operator. A district court held the government was entitled to sovereign immunity ...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed denial of fishing rights to the Lummi Nation in a long-running dispute over rights in certain waters in northern Washington. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, the Tulalip Tribes, and the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe argued that the recognized fishing rights of the Lummi ...
The Ninth Circuit granted in part and denied in part a petition to review FERC orders that altered which facilities qualify for benefits under the Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) and how those facilities are compensated. An industry group and several environmental groups argued the orde...
The Fifth Circuit, 2-1, granted a petition to review FERC orders it previously vacated and remanded, which instructed utilities in the WestConnect transmission planning region on how to implement a cost allocation scheme for grid improvements in the region. A utility company argued the orders, which...
A district court granted DOI's and the Army Corps of Engineers' motion to dismiss a lawsuit concerning construction of a wind farm off the coast of New York. Four homeowners sought to halt construction, claiming that onshore trenching associated with the project would worsen existing perfluoroalkyl ...
The D.C. Circuit granted in part and denied in part a petition to review FERC orders that permitted the creation of a new energy transmission service across several states in the Southeast. The first, the Deadlock Order, was adopted when the commissioners deadlocked 2-2 on whether the overall propos...
The D.C. Circuit vacated DOE's 2020 rule establishing more stringent energy efficiency standards for commercial packaged boilers, and its 2022 supplemental document responding to the court's previous remand order that it address comments raised during the rulemaking process. Industry groups argued D...
A district court granted summary judgment for the State Department in a lawsuit concerning documents related to the agency's handling of the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement. A nonprofit group filed a FOIA request, seeking three documents concerning the "Circular 175" process for the agreement. The Depa...
The Ninth Circuit dismissed for lack of standing a challenge to the Forest Service's livestock grazing decisions in Colville National Forest. Environmental groups argued the decisions would lead to an increase in wolf attacks on livestock, which in turn would cause the Washington Department of Fish ...