Summary:  The Bureau of Land Management has filed a motion in court asking it to send the three master drilling plans back for further environmental analysis of potential air quality impacts. In the meantime, the agency asked for approval of 30 other drilling plans and dismissal of the lawsuit.

The motion is in response to the 2011 lawsuit filed by Earthjustice on behalf of several environmental groups. Earthjustice attorney Alison Flint said, “This really is BLM's acknowledgment that it violated the law. We oppose the BLM's request to dismiss the remainder of the lawsuit.” Flint added that BLM “failed to conduct air quality analyses for the 33 master drilling plans.”

  Full Article:  http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20120824/NEWS/120829917/1077&ParentProfile=1058"

  Summary:  Environmental groups are asking the Kansas Supreme Court to overturn a 2010 state permit issued for construction of a $1.5 billion coal-fired power plant. The court will hold a hearing on the request at the end of August. Sunflower Electric Power Corp is one of the development partners, whose project would add a major new air pollution source to a region that doesn’t need the power and is blessed with some of the best wind energy potential in the nation.

“The state negotiated the deal with Sunflower to break a political stalemate, which resulted in issuance of a KDHE permit that falls short of Kansas' obligations under the federal Clean Air Act,” said Earthjustice attorney Amanda Goodin. “The final regulatory process was overly influenced by Sunflower executives,” she added.

  Full Article:  http://www.kansascity.com/2012/08/19/3769264/kansas-high-court-to-hear-coal.html"

  Summary:  The federal government is expected to announce an end to federal protection for gray wolves in Wyoming soon. Management of the wolves would be handed to Wyoming, which plans to allow indiscriminate killing of wolves in 85 percent of the state. Wolf hunting would be allowed in the other 15 percent outside Yellowstone National Park.

"It's safe to say that if the Fish and Wildlife Service approves Wyoming's state law and wolf management plan as they are now, we are likely to challenge any decision to delist Wyoming wolves," Jenny Harbine, an attorney with the Northern Rockies division of Earthjustice, which has gone to court on behalf of the wolves in the past.

  Full Article:  http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/77d6b3fec38f485fbc2334e8e3fb7173/WY--Wyoming-Wolves"

  Summary:  A coalition of environmental groups in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska regions filed a law suit to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue tougher rules on oil dispersant chemicals. The groups referred to a study which shows that, in cleaning up the massive 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the dispersants applied were not used safely and may have caused serious disruptions to the food chain in the Gulf of Mexico, such as disappearance of phytoplankton—“the engines of marine food chains.”

"We sent EPA a notice of intent to sue in October 2010 following the debacle of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster and the unprecedented use of dispersants during that response," said Earthjustice attorney Hannah Chang, who is representing the groups in court. "Our filing today will push EPA to take further action to follow through on its promise to get a much-needed rule in place."

  Full Article:  http://www.local12.com/news/environmental/story/Groups-Seeking-Oil-Spill-Dispersant-Rule-Sue-EPA/3--CpHOaqUmhvRv7IKW7mQ.cspx"