The Fifth Circuit dismissed Louisiana's challenge to the Biden Administration's interim estimates on the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions. Louisiana initially sought to preliminarily enjoin the interim estimates from being used, arguing they were procedurally invalid, arbitrary and capricious...
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 conservation groups' motion to intervene in a lawsuit concerning EPA's and the Army Corps of Engineers' rule defining the scope of the CWA. The groups sought intervention as of right, arguing they had "a significant, protectable interest" because they represent those who use ...
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 denied a mining company's motion to dismiss an Indian tribe's challenge to a land exchange between the company and the Forest Service. The tribe argued that the land exchange implicated its sovereign interests, including a right under an 1854 treaty to use the land for hunting, fish...
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 Tenth Circuit dismissed a petition to review NRC's grant of a temporary license for spent nuclear fuel storage near the New Mexico border. New Mexico argued NRC violated NEPA and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, and acted ultra vires in granting the license. NRC moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdi...
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 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...