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...

The Fourth Circuit vacated the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's CWA §401 certification for a proposed pipeline that would transport natural gas from West Virginia to southern Virginia. Landowners and environmental groups petitioned for review of the certification, arguing the ...

The Fourth Circuit denied a petition to review the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ's) and the State Water Control Board's approval of a state water permit for a proposed pipeline that would transport natural gas from West Virginia to southern Virginia. Environmental groups argued...

A district court granted in part an environmental group's motion for summary judgment in a challenge to NMFS' 2021 permit authorizing the incidental taking of ESA-listed humpback whales in a sablefish fishery off the Pacific coast. The group argued NMFS violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMP...

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 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...

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 Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's order granting voluntary remand and vacating EPA's 2020 CWA Section 401 Certification Rule. States, environmental groups, and tribes challenged the rule, arguing it unlawfully restricted states' and tribes' ability to reject water pollution projects. Bef...

A district court adopted a magistrate judge's recommendation to deny summary judgment for an environmental group in a lawsuit concerning the Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a CWA §404 permit for a roadway expansion project in Florida. The group argued the Corps violated the CWA by failing to r...

The D.C. Circuit granted EPA's motion to dismiss an industry group's challenge to interim lifetime health advisories for two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water. The court found that the group identified alleged harm facing an indirect subsidiary of one of its members, but failed t...