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U.S. District Judge Ramona Manglona refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging U.S. Navy plans for the Marine Corps to conduct live-fire training in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. In a decision issued in Saipan, Judge Manglona said the lawsuit questioning whether the Navy failed to consider all the impacts associated with the plan to transfer 5,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam and begin staging massive, live-fire war games on the islands of Pågan and Tinian can proceed.

Following the public hearing, the Office of Zoning Administration researched the claims and found that the Jefferson Oil drilling operation was in violation of several of the conditions of approval imposed by the initial Zoning Administrator's grant and subsequent Plan Approvals.

In light of the “serious possibility” that the Corps will be able to substantiate its prior conclusions, the Court finds that vacatur is not the appropriate remedy in this case. That determination does not, however, excuse Defendants from giving serious consideration to the errors identified in this Court’s prior Opinion. Compliance with NEPA cannot be reduced to a bureaucratic formality, and the Court expects the Corps not to treat remand as an exercise in filling out the proper paperwork post hoc. After the agency’s further work on remand, the parties may well disagree over the sufficiency of its conclusion. If and when such a dispute arises, they will again have the opportunity to address whether Defendants have in fact fulfilled their statutory obligations.

The suit asks the Navy to pay for medical surveillance of exposed families so that serious health problems associated with this toxic class of chemicals called PFAS can be detected early, increasing the chances of a favorable outcome.

Health & Environmental Organizations Warn EPA They Plan to Sue Over Delayed Smog Cleanup

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California rules that the Trump administration illegally suspended the Obama-era rule preventing waste of publicly-owned natural gas on public and tribal lands.

The Court FINDS and DECLARES that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management violated the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 551 et seq., when it issued a notice on June 15, 2017 (82 Fed. Reg. 27,430) (the “Postponement Notice”) postponing the compliance date for certain provisions of the Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation Rule (81 Fed. Reg. 83,008) after the rule had already gone into effect. The Court hereby VACATES the Postponement Notice and ORDERS Defendants to immediately reinstate the Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation Rule in its entirety.

Klamath Takings Decision

Amicus Brief

To find out why the agency would take an action so contrary to the public’s interest, Earthjustice filed a FOIA request on behalf of the coalition in April 2017, asking the EPA to provide the documents that led to the decision to allow more toxic coal waste dumping in America’s waterways. Four months later, despite acknowledging that it has hundreds, if not thousands, of documents that are responsive to the request, the EPA has produced only one document—and much of that document was inked out before releasing.

A coalition of environmental and public health advocates filed suit to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to stop withholding critical information about the Trump administration’s swift attempt to roll back safeguards against America’s leading source of toxic water pollution: coal power plants.

Petition for certification pursuant to 22 U.S.C. § 1978 of actions undertaken by Canadian nationals diminishing the effectiveness of the Convention on Nature Protection and Wild Life Preservation in the Western Hemisphere and the Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in the North Pacific Ocean.

STAYED until the earlier of (1) May 7, 2018; (2) the FDA announces that the Menu Labeling Rule's compliance deadline could be or will be extended beyond May 7, 2018; (3) the FDA fails to confirm on or before December 31, 2017, in a Federal Register publication, that the Menu Labeling Rule's compliance date is May 7, 2018; or (4) the FDA fails to publish draft or final menu labeling guidance as referenced in Dr. Gottlieb's August 25 press release by December 31, 2017. The parties are directed to file a joint notice seeking to lift the stay upon occurrence of any of the aforementioned events. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on 9/26/17. (lcegs2)

earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/17-09-22%20Final%20Complaint_0.pdf

This case challenges state approval for a plan by Canadian-based Lucky Minerals (“Lucky”) to explore for gold and other minerals in Emigrant Gulch above Montana’s iconic Paradise Valley, approximately 30 miles north of Yellowstone National Park. Lucky’s project aims to pave the way for a large-scale gold mine in this sensitive and scenic area. More than 300 Park County, Montana businesses and thousands of individuals have objected to the project on grounds that it would industrialize a remote area that is home to grizzly bears, wolverines, and other wildlife, and would threaten to dismantle Park County’s tourism economy that depends on clean water and pristine views. However, on July 26, 2017, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) determined that the exploratory drilling—which would occur 24 hours each day between July 15 and October 15 for two consecutive years—would not cause any significant environmental impacts and approved the project.

Opinion on 2001 Roadless Rule in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

In these cases, we are asked to decide whether the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) acted beyond its statutory authority when it promulgated a 1 regulation—43 C.F.R. § 3162.3-3 (2015)1—governing hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on lands owned or held in trust by the United States. The district court invalidated this regulation (hereinafter, the Fracking Regulation) as exceeding the BLM’s statutory authority. While these appeals were pending, a new President of the United States was elected. After that change in Administration, and at the President’s direction, the BLM began the process of rescinding the Fracking Regulation. Given these changed and changing circumstances, we conclude these appeals are prudentially unripe. As a result, we dismiss these appeals and remand with directions to vacate the district court’s opinion and dismiss the action
without prejudice.
 

By Peter Lehner and Nathan A. Rosenberg. This article, excerpted from Michael B. Gerrard & John Dernbach, eds., "Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States," examines the agricultural strategies, practices, and technologies available to increase soil carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.