Court Opinions
Wildearth Guardians v. EPA (No. 12-71523, 2014)
The panel dismissed in part and denied in part a petition for review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of the State of Nevada’s State Implementation Plan for regional haze under the Clean Air Act. WildEarth Guardians, a non-profit environmental organization, alleged that Nevada’s State Implementation Plan (SIP) was inadequate, …
Read MorePeople of the State of California v. US Dept. of the Interior (No. 12-55856, 2014)
The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of federal defendants and intervenor water districts in an action challenging an environmental impact statement prepared by the Secretary of the Interior that analyzed the effects of water transfer agreements on the Salton Sea in southern California. The panel disagreed …
Read MoreIn Defense of Animals v. Dep’t of the Interior (No. 12-17804, 2014)
The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of federal defendants in an action alleging that the roundup, or gather, of wild horses and burros from the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area on the California-Nevada border violated the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and the National Environmental …
Read MoreLeague of Wilderness Defenders/Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project v. Connaughton (No. 13-35653, 2014)
The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the districtcourt’s denial of a motion to preliminarily enjoin the Snow Basin logging project in Oregon, and remanded for entry of a preliminary injunction, the scope of which the district court should determine on remand. The panel held that the plaintiffs …
Read MoreNational Resources Defense Council v. Jewell (No. 09-17661, 2014)
The en banc court reversed the district court’s judgment in favor of federal defendants in an action brought by environmental groups concerning long-term water contracts the federal Bureau of Reclamation entered pertaining to California’s Central Valley Project, the threatened delta smelt, and the requirement under Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered …
Read MoreRepublic of Ecuador v. MacKay (No. 12-15572, 2014)
The panel affirmed two district courts’ decisions ordering the production of documents for use in a foreign proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 1782. The panel held that the 2010 amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 did not fundamentally change the scope of work product protection for expert materials. …
Read MoreNative Village of Point Hope v. Jewell (No. 12-35287, 2014)
The panel reversed the district court’s summary judgment entered in favor of federal defendants in an action challenging the government’s environmental impact statements analyzing the environmental effects of proposed leases for oil and gas development in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska. The panel held that the …
Read MoreJones v. Nat’l Marine Fisheries (No. 11-35954, 2013)
The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the United States Army Corps of Engineers in an action under the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act challenging the Corps’ issuance of a permit as part of a project to mine valuable mineral sands near …
Read MoreNatural Resources Defense Council v. EPA (No. 12-70268, 2013)
The panel granted in part and denied in part a petition for review of a decision of the Environmental Protection Agency granting an application for conditional registration of two pesticides, AGS-20 and AGS-20 U, that applicant HeiQ Materials sought to apply to manufactured textiles such as clothing, blankets, and carpet. …
Read MoreRocky Mountain Farmers Union v. Corey (No. 12-15131, 2013)
The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s summary judgment, and vacated the district court’s preliminary injunction and remanded in an action which alleged that California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Cal. Code Regs. tit. 17, §§ 95480–90 (2011), violated the dormant Commerce Clause and was preempted …
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