The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, affirmed a district court ruling that the Forest Service acted arbitrarily and capriciously in approving a mining operations plan for a copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains. The Service approved the plan based on its conclusion that §612 of the Surface Resources and Multi...

In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit concerning the Forest Service's 1987 plan for Custer Gallatin National Forest. An environmental group argued that NEPA obligated the Service to supplement its EIS for the plan after recognizing in 2012 that climate change n...

A district court denied a landowner's motion to temporarily enjoin a natural gas pipeline developer from blasting aquifers along a route approved by FERC that crossed his property. The landowner argued the court had jurisdiction because he was not seeking to modify or set aside FERC's certificate fo...

The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, affirmed in part and reversed in part summary judgment for DOI in a challenge to its approval of a mine expansion proposal in Montana. Environmental groups argued DOI violated NEPA by failing to take a "hard look" at the actual environmental effects of the expansion's greenho...

A district court dismissed as moot a yearslong lawsuit challenging President Trump's issuance of a presidential permit in 2019 for construction of a cross-border segment of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Environmental groups had argued the former president violated the Property Clause, the Commerce C...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part an environmental group's petition to review FERC's decision authorizing a new natural gas pipeline and compressor station in Massachusetts. The group argued, among other things, that FERC's EA failed to account for reasonably foreseeable indirect effects of the proje...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Forest Service in a challenge to the Service’s determination that a mining company held a valid existing right to operate a uranium mine in the Kaibab National Forest. Environmental groups argued that sunk costs should have been considered when e...

A district court denied advocacy groups' motion to preliminarily enjoin BLM's gather of wild horses in eastern Nevada. The groups argued BLM violated the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act by not developing a herd management area plan, which resulted in an inhumane gather process; violated NEPA...

A district court vacated and remanded BOEM's approval of an oil and gas lease sale covering 80.8 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico. Environmental groups argued that BOEM violated NEPA by failing to include foreign greenhouse gas emissions in its emissions calculation for the "no action" alternativ...

The Fourth Circuit vacated and remanded the Forest Service's and BLM's renewed records of decision (RODs) for an interstate natural gas pipeline to cross through Jefferson National Forest. The groups argued the agencies violated NEPA, the National Forest Management Act (NMFA), and the Mineral Leasin...