A district court granted the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM's) motion to dismiss a challenge to its memorandum designating certain areas in New York as "wind energy areas" for purposes of offshore wind development. A nonprofit group argued BOEM violated NEPA by failing to conduct an EA pr...
A district court denied summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to the Forest Service's approval of a proposed mining exploration project on public land in the eastern Sierra Nevadas. The groups argued the Service violated NEPA by relying on two categorical exclusions—for mineral ...
A district court denied emergency motions brought by environmental groups, ranchers, and tribes to halt construction of a lithium mine near Thacker Pass, Nevada, pending appeal. The plaintiffs initially argued BLM's approval of the mine violated FLPMA, NEPA, and the National Historic Preservation Ac...
A district court vacated on remand OSM's approval of an underground coal mine expansion in central Montana. Environmental groups initially challenged OSM's 2018 EA for the proposed expansion. The Ninth Circuit held that OSM violated NEPA by failing to provide convincing reasons for its determination...
The Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and FHwA in a challenge to their approval of a toll bridge across North Carolina's Currituck Sound that would connect the northern Outer Banks with the mainland. Environmental and community group...
The D.C. Circuit, 2-1, denied electric utility companies' challenge to FERC's order granting a solar company's application for certification of its solar array and battery storage facility in Montana as a qualifying facility under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). The companies arg...
A district court granted summary judgment for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in a challenge to its long-term contracts with local power companies. Conservation groups argued that the 20-year contracts, which contained automatic renewal provisions and flexibility provisions allowing the compani...
The Tenth Circuit reversed a district court ruling that affirmed BLM's environmental impact analysis for 370 applications for permits to drill (APDs) for oil and gas in New Mexico's San Juan Basin. Environmental groups argued that BLM's 81 EAs and EA addendum violated NEPA because the Bureau imprope...
A district court granted in part and denied in part cross-motions for summary judgment in a challenge to BLM's approval of a new open-pit phosphate mine in southeast Idaho. Environmental groups argued the approval violated NEPA, FLPMA, and the CWA. The court found BLM failed to adequately consider t...
The Fifth Circuit ordered FERC to provide a meaningful explanation for the length of time it takes for final action in Federal Power Act §206 complaint proceedings, in a lawsuit concerning complaints that have gone four to six years without resolution. The Louisiana Public Service Commission petiti...