The New Mexico Supreme Court overturned regulations promulgated by the State Game Commission in 2017 that outlined a process for landowners to obtain a certificate allowing them to close public access to segments of public water flowing over private property. Outdoor recreation advocates challenged ...
The Fifth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit concerning a 2019 Texas law that allows only owners of existing transmission lines in the state to build, own, or operate new lines that connect to existing lines. A company seeking to enter the state...
The Ninth Circuit vacated FERC orders that held the California Water Resources Control Board had waived its authority to ensure certain hydroelectric projects complied with state water quality standards. The Board and environmental groups petitioned the court to review FERC's findings that the Board...
The D.C. Circuit vacated a district court's grant of summary judgment to EPA in a challenge to the Agency's approval of a permitting program for coal ash disposal facilities in Oklahoma. Environmental groups challenged EPA’s approval on several grounds under RCRA and the APA, and the district cour...
The D.C. Circuit held, 2-1, that an agency must provide notice and an opportunity for public comment when withdrawing a rule that has been filed for public inspection but not yet published in the Federal Register. In January 2017, USDA announced it had finalized a rule designed to protect show horse...
The Iowa Supreme Court, 4-3, affirmed a summary judgment order dismissing a landowner's nuisance, trespass, and drainage claims against a neighboring confined animal feeding operation (CAFO). The neighboring CAFO moved for summary judgment based on the statutory immunity enacted in Iowa's "right-to-...
The Nevada Supreme Court held, 4-3, that the state's top water official had authority to approve a groundwater management plan (GMP) that deviated from the doctrine of prior appropriation for the over-appropriated Diamond Valley Hydrologic Basin. Senior rights holders in the basin sought to invalida...
The D.C. Circuit upheld FERC's approval of a dam operator's flood protection plan for a nearby water pump station in North Carolina. A city petitioned for review of FERC's approval of the plan, a state-imposed condition of its water quality certification under the CWA, which involved raising the pum...
The Federal Circuit reversed a Court of Federal Claims ruling that the U.S. government was not liable for the flooding of homes near two Houston dams managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during Hurricane Harvey. Property owners downstream of the Addicks and Barker Dams argued that the governm...
The Massachusetts Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's denial of an oil and gas company's motion to dismiss a civil enforcement action brought by the Massachusetts attorney general (AG) based on the company's communications with investors and consumers concerning the impact of climate change. The ...