The Montana Supreme Court, 5-2, reversed a lower court order that revoked the Montana Department of Environmental Quality's (MDEQ's) approval of a permit for construction and operation of a proposed copper mine. Conservation groups argued MDEQ's issuance of the permit violated the state's Metal Mine...

A district court denied a mining company's motion for partial summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning pollution from the company's British Columbia smelter along the Upper Columbia River. Tribal members sought natural resource damages for contamination of the river. The company argued the members' ...

A district court granted DOE's motion to dismiss a lawsuit over the social and economic impacts of storing spent nuclear fuel at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Butte County argued DOE should have determined the social and economic impacts of storing the materials at INL because they were there pur...

A district court dismissed a RCRA citizen suit over a closure plan for a coal-fired power plant in Alabama. An environmental group challenged the plan, arguing it was unlawful to permanently store over 21 million tons of coal ash and toxic pollutants in the existing unlined impoundment, situated in ...

A district court denied environmental groups' motion to preliminarily enjoin an oil drilling project in Wyoming's Powder River Basin. The groups argued DOI's initial approval of the project violated NEPA by failing to take a "hard look" at relevant environmental issues, violated FLPMA by failing to ...

A district court dismissed a mining company's challenge to DOI's cancellation of two leases for a proposed copper and nickel mine in Superior National Forest. The company argued the cancellation violated the company's right to successive lease renewals and to be free from government action that is a...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit alleging the Forest Service was liable as a contributor under RCRA for failing to regulate use of lead ammunition by hunters in Kaibab National Forest. Environmental groups argued that, even though the Service's activity was not the direct source of ...

The Fifth Circuit granted oil and gas interest groups' and the state of Texas' petition to review NRC's issuance of a license to a private company to operate a temporary storage facility for spent nuclear fuel on the Permian Basin. Petitioners argued, among other things, that NRC lacked statutory au...

The California Supreme Court affirmed an appellate court ruling in favor of oil producers and mineral rights holders in a challenge to a county ordinance banning oil and gas wastewater injection and impoundment and drilling of new oil and gas wells. The plaintiffs argued the ordinance was preempted ...

The Sixth Circuit reversed a district court ruling in a lawsuit concerning 12 oil refinery sites that operated during World War II. The current owner of the refineries sought contribution from the U.S. government for environmental contamination discovered at the sites, arguing the government's produ...