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...

The Fourth Circuit reversed a district court order abstaining from ruling on constitutional claims brought by mineral interest owners challenging amendments to West Virginia's oil and gas conservation law. Plaintiffs argued the amendments, which for the first time authorized "unitization of interest...

A district court denied an environmental group's motion for summary judgment in a challenge to the Forest Service's approval of a restoration project in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. The group argued the Service violated NEPA and its implementing regulations in designing, analyzing, and implem...

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 ...

The Third Circuit denied petitions to review FAA's FONSI decision approving construction of a new terminal at an airport in New Jersey. Petitioners argued FAA erroneously determined that the project did not expand the terminal and would not induce air traffic growth, failed to consider the cumulativ...

A district court denied Indigenous and environmental groups' motion for injunction pending appeal of their challenge to BLM's approval of an oil and gas development project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The groups initially sought to preliminarily enjoin construction through the remainde...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Forest Service in a challenge to its approval of a logging project in Inyo National Forest. Environmental groups argued the Service failed to adequately consider alternatives, failed to solicit public comments following its 2018 EA, and failed to s...

The Fifth Circuit dismissed intervening environmental groups' challenge to a district court order requiring the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to hold an oil and gas lease sale on the outer continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. The state of Louisiana and oil companies initially sued BOE...

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 environmental groups' challenge to BLM's approval of a 600-million-barrel oil development project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The groups first argued BLM violated NEPA by failing to consider a reasonable range of alternatives and by failing to adequately anal...