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Full-Text Articles in Law
Hoopa Valley Tribe V. Ferc, Fredrick Aaron Rains
Hoopa Valley Tribe V. Ferc, Fredrick Aaron Rains
Public Land & Resources Law Review
In Hoopa Valley Tribe v. FERC, the Hoopa Valley Tribe challenged the intentional and continual delay of state water quality certification review of water discharged from a series of dams on the Klamath River in California and Oregon. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the states of Oregon and California, and PacifiCorp, a hydroelectric operator, were implementing an administrative scheme designed to circumvent a one-year temporal requirement for review imposed on states by the Clean Water Act. This scheme allowed PacifiCorp to operate the series of dams for over a decade without proper state water quality certification. The United States …
Cascadia Wildlands V. Thrailkill, Maresa A. Jenson
Cascadia Wildlands V. Thrailkill, Maresa A. Jenson
Public Land & Resources Law Review
The ninth circuit denied preliminary injunction for a wildfire Recovery Project in Oregon’s Klamath Mountains, the home range of the threatened spotted owl. The USFWS BiOp for the Recovery Project determined that there was no jeopardy to the species, even though research found adverse habitat effects and incidental take of the spotted owl. Thus, affirming the scientific procedure contained the “best available science” and was not arbitrary or capricious.
Oregon Natural Desert Association V. Jewell, Jody D. Lowenstein
Oregon Natural Desert Association V. Jewell, Jody D. Lowenstein
Public Land & Resources Law Review
In Oregon Natural Desert Association v. Jewell, the Ninth Circuit invalidated the BLM’s environmental review, finding that the agency based its approval of a wind-energy development on inaccurate scientific analysis. In negating the BLM’s action, the court held that flawed data and indefensible reasoning were discordant with NEPA’s central tenets. Furthermore, the court did not hold the BLM responsible for addressing a distinct environmental issue that was not brought to its attention during the public comment period.
Cascadia Wildlands V. Bureau Of Indian Affairs, Hannah R. Seifert
Cascadia Wildlands V. Bureau Of Indian Affairs, Hannah R. Seifert
Public Land & Resources Law Review
Cascadia Wildlands v. Bureau of Indian Affairs exemplifies the discretion agencies enjoy when determining how to organize and present information in environmental assessments. In a case of first impression, the court relaxed the extent of analysis necessary to comply with NEPA by allowing reasonably foreseeable future projects to be aggregated with past projects. Additionally, the court permitted the BIA to circumvent the FWS’s Recovery Plan for the northern spotted owl by holding that the CRA was subject only to the standards and guidelines of federal forest plans, not specific recovery plans.