Facts The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), administered by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), claimed “exclusive fishery management authority over all fish,” known as the “exclusive economic zone” and area extending 200 nautical miles past U.S. territorial seas.1 The MSA established fishery management councils, which develop fishery management plans.2 The MSA contemplates a variety … Continued

Student Editorial Board Adirondack White Lake Association v. Adirondack Park Agency, 208 N.Y.S.3d 430 (3d Dep’t 2024) Facts The petitioners commenced a CPLR article 78 proceeding to challenge the issuance of a mining permit that allows mineral extraction in a previously existing mine.1 The respondents had applied for a mining permit with the Department of Environmental … Continued

Facts The Sitka Tribe of Southeast Alaska (the “Tribe”) brought a suit against the state of Alaska, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Board of Fisheries (collectively, the “state”), alleging that the state’s management of the commercial fishery, with respect to the herring population in the Sitka Sound, violated common use and sustained … Continued

Facts This case is the most recent in a series of actions involving the permitting of a sand and gravel mine owned and operated by Sand Land Corporation and Wainscott Sand and Gravel Corp (collectively, “Sand Land” or “petitioners”) and located in the Town of Southampton in Suffolk County, New York.1 Mining operations have occurred at … Continued

Facts In June of 2022 Vermont Gas Systems, Inc. (VGS) petitioned the Vermont Public Utility Commission for approval of a contract with Archaea Energy Marketing LLC (Archaea). The contract, which has an initial term of 14-and-a-half years, required VGS to purchase a minimum volume of renewable natural gas (RNG), from a Waterloo, New York landfill … Continued

Facts In considering a request by plaintiff Sierra Club to vacate a pre-construction permit granted by Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to Commonwealth Liquefied Natural Gas (“Commonwealth”), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit applied a Louisiana State Law “without reason” standard to several aspects of the permit review process. The … Continued

Facts This case arises, at a foundational level, out of California’s difficulties in maintaining a consistent and evenly distributed water supply.1 California’s greatest need for water lies in its south during the summer, yet the state receives most of its precipitation in the north during the winter.2 Due to these water supply issues, California established the State … Continued

Facts and Procedural History In 2015, 21 plaintiffs, including young people and “future generations,” filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging that the federal government, by subsidizing fossil fuel extraction and consumption, is responsible for destroying the climate on which their life, liberty, and property depends in violation of their rights under the Due Process Clause … Continued

Facts Plaintiffs are seven LLCs that have leased parcels of undeveloped land in the Upstate New York towns of Enfield and Coventry.1 The plaintiffs have improved the land by building the necessary infrastructure for solar energy farms.2 The defendants are a Rochester-area businessman named David Norbut (Norbut) and three of his closely held companies that own the … Continued

Facts This case arises from an action brought by the state of Delaware (the state) against major players in the fossil fuel industry, including BP America Inc., Chevron Corporation, and Exxon Mobil Corporation, inter alia (collectively, the Defendants).1 Claims included: (1) negligent failure to warn, (2) trespass, (3) common law nuisance, and (4) violations of the Delaware Consumer … Continued