Summary:  The state of Wyoming announced this week that it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its challenge to the federal roadless rule, which forbids new road construction and development on nearly 50 million acres of forestland nationwide. 3.2 million of those acres are in Wyoming.

Tim Preso, an attorney with Earthjustice’s Northern Rockies office, defended the rule: "Roadless areas in our national forests provide a refuge for America's wildlife, protect the sources for much of the nation's pure drinking water and are a recreational haven for millions of hunters, anglers and hikers. We'll work to protect America's best roadless forests and defeat Wyoming's last-ditch attempt to bulldoze, drill and clear-cut these irreplaceable natural areas."

  Full Article:  http://www.wyomingbusinessreport.com/article.asp?id=63038"

  Summary:  EPA announced in a federal court brief that it does not plan to submit the mandatory review of particulate matter until August 15, 2013, citing complexity and new scientific research on the health effects of PM. Earthjustice has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the American Lung Association, the National Parks Conservation Association and the Environmental Defense Fund to compel a review of the dangerous pollutant.

"From a legal point of view, this case is about enforcing the deadline, but the reason that enforcing that deadline is so important is because the standards that are in place right now are known not to be adequate to protect public health," Earthjustice attorney Paul Cort said.

  Full Article:  http://www.nctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/state-spars-with-epa-on-air-quality-standards/article_5d70ebd3-1bcc-5fc9-b5c9-e350c091084d.html"

  Summary:  Florida state and federal negotiators are reportedly on the verge of a settlement resolving two lawsuits and establishing approximately $890 million worth of new Everglades restoration projects. The price tag is less than the $1.5 billion proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency, but the agreement would end a standoff that has lasted already for decades.

Earthjustice attorney David Guest acknowledged concern that the deal may fall short of the Everglades’ needs but recognized the significance of resolving a 24-year-old lawsuit. “It’s absolutely going to be progress, there is no doubt about that,” he said.

  Full Article:  http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/05/2785647/settlement-close-in-glades-cleanup.html"

  Summary:  Earthjustice filed a brief in support of the legal efforts by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Observer-Reporter of Washington to reveal the details of a court-sealed settlement between a family of previously-vocal fracking activists and a group of shale gas development companies.

"The sealed court records in this case are part of a widespread pattern of industry secrecy," said Earthjustice attorney Matthew Gerhart. "In the face of a nationwide gas drilling boom and the troubling reports of related health impacts, we cannot afford to let this pattern continue."

The Hallowich family, which agreed to the settlement in August 2011, had previously said that the fracking site adjacent to their farm caused them to have “burning eyes, sore throats, headaches and earaches.”

  Full Article:  http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/news/archives/24508-group-joins-pg-effort-to-unseal-hallowich-settlement"