The Tenth Circuit affirmed denial of a preliminary injunction in a challenge to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue's (ONRR's) 2016 rule changing how royalties were calculated for oil and natural gas produced on federal land. A trade group argued the rule was arbitrary and capricious, in violati...

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...

A district court granted in part and denied in part environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to the Forest Service's and FWS' approval of a logging project in Kootenai National Forest. The groups argued, among other things, that the Services failed to take a "hard look" at th...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part and denied in part petitions to review a Surface Transportation Board order authorizing construction and operation of a new rail line in the Uinta Basin. Environmental groups and a Colorado county argued the Board failed to take a "hard look" at environmental impacts...

A district court granted in part and denied in part environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to BLM's 2020 decision to allow grazing in the Sonoran Desert National Monument. The groups argued the Bureau's amended resource management plan (RMP) violated FLPMA and the National ...

The Fourth Circuit granted federal agencies' and Mountain Valley Pipeline proponents' motion to dismiss challenges to agency actions that would enable final construction and initial operation of the 303-mile natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia. Environmental groups had petitioned the...

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 ...

A district court denied environmental groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to the Forest Service's approval of a gold exploration project in Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The groups argued the Service violated NEPA by failing to take a "hard look" at the potential effects exploratio...

A district court denied summary judgment for oil and gas leasing proponents and the state of Alaska in a challenge to President Biden's Executive Order No. 13990 and actions DOI took to implement the order's directive to place a temporary moratorium on implementation of a leasing program in the Arct...