Weyerhaeseur v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(2018) Filed on behalf of environmental law professors in support of upholding the integrity of the Endangered Species Act and protecting critical habitat for the dusky gopher frog, among the top 100 most threatened species in the world.
Johnson v. Consumers Cooperative Association of Litchfield
(2018) Organic Farmers Association, the Center for Food Safety, and the Organic Farmers' Agency for Relationship Marketing weighed in on this case in the Minnesota Court of Appeals to protect the integrity of USDA organic labeling. Minnesota's Supreme Court had previously interpreted federal organics regulations to mean that pesticide drift from adjacent fields could never be the cause of an organic field being decertified. The National Organic Program, the federal agency in charge of USDA organic certification, disagreed and withdrew the organic certification from the Johnsons' field due to pesticide drift. The appeal centered around whether pesticide drift can be the legal cause of organic decertification.
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Inc., et al., v. Pruitt, et al.
(2017) - Filed on behalf of National Wildlife Federation, Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc., and Riverkeeper, Inc. in support of using the "constructive submission doctrine" to review West Virginia's decision not to prepare TMDLs for impaired waters in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Gallatin Wildlife Association, et al., v. U.S. Forest Service, et al.
(2017) Filed on behalf of Big Wild Adventures and Natural Exposures in support of enjoining domestic sheep grazing in the Gravelly Mountains of the Beayerhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
Friends of the Wild Swan v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(2017) - Filed on behalf of administrative law professors in support of judicial review of Recovery Plans under the Administrative Procedure Act. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
State of West Virginia v. EPA
(2016) - Filed on behalf of former state environmental and energy officials in support of EPA's Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel power plants. U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
In re: B&M Realty, LLP
(2016) - Filed on behalf of Vermont Natural Resources Council and the Preservation Trust of Vermont in opposition to an Act 250 permit that would contribute to interstate sprawl development in southern Vermont. Vermont Supreme Court.
Grocery Manufacturers Association v. Sorrell
(2015) - Filed on behalf of core Vermont groups who championed Vermont's labeling law for genetically engineered foods, in support of that law. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. See more of the Clinic's work on Vermont's GE labeling law.
Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Inc. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency
(2014) - Filed on behalf of water law professors, scholars, former agency officials, and public policy leaders in support of a ruling to strike down EPA’s Water Transfers Rule. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Environmental Protection Agency
(2014) - Filed on behalf of climate change and marine scientists in support of a challenge to EPA's failure to list coastal waters of Washington and Oregon as impaired or threatened due to the effects of ocean acidification. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Syngenta Seeds v. County of Kaua‘i
(2014) - Filed (proposed) on behalf of Hawaiian farmers and national groups in support of Kaua‘i County’s ordinance to protect residents from pesticides and transgenic contamination. U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai‘i.
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. United States Forest Service
(2014) - Filed on behalf of Big Wild Adventures and Natural Exposures in support of an injunction to stop Forest Service projects from adversely affecting lynx critical habitat. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Town of Sturbridge Board of Health & Twenty-Eight 10-Citizen Groups v. Town of Southbridge Board of Health
(2011) - Filed (proposed) on behalf of Toxics Action Center in support of standing for environmental plaintiffs to appeal a town site assignment decision to the Massachusetts state court system. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
In re Motion for Declaratory Ruling of Campaign for Ratepayers Rights
(2010) - Filed (proposed) on behalf of Toxics Action Center and a group of local residents regarding the air, water, and greenhouse gas pollution emanating from the Merrimack Generating Station. New Hampshire Supreme Court.
In re Montpelier WWTP Discharge Permit
(2009) - Filed on behalf of former Vermont environmental officials in support of more stringent phosphorus controls at the Montpelier wastewater treatment facility. Vermont Supreme Court.
State of North Carolina v. Tennessee Valley Authority
(2009) - Filed on behalf of environmental law professors in support of the right of downwind states to bring common law nuisance actions in federal courts. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc.
(2008) - Filed on behalf of National Wildlife Federation and the Sierra Club in support of ecologically protective requirements for cooling water intake structures under the Clean Water Act. United States Supreme Court.
Columbia Venture, LLC v. Dewberrry & Davis, LLC v. United States
(2008) - Filed on behalf of the Association of State Floodplain Managers in support of federal preemption over state tort claims regarding the National Flood Insurance Program and FEMA's flood map process. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. Donald C. Winter, Secretary of the Navy
(2007) - Filed on behalf of law professors in support of NRDC's NEPA claim regarding marine species and the United States Navy's use of mid-range sonar in Southern California. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
John A. Rapanos v. United States and June Carabell v. United States Corps of Engineers
(2006) - Filed on behalf of the Association of State Wetland Managers, the Association of State Floodplain Managers, and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Commission in support of adequate Clean Water Act jurisdiction over wetlands and tributaries. United States Supreme Court.
S.D. Warren Company v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection
(2006) - Filed on behalf of National Wildlife Federation and 51 local, state, and national organizations with shared interests in protecting state authority to require Clean Water Act water quality certifications for hydropower dam licenses. United States Supreme Court.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. United States Environmental Protection Agency
(2006) - Filed on behalf of a coalition of ocean and coastal conservation organizations in support of of EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act. United States Supreme Court.
(2006) - Filed on behalf of National Wildlife Federation and other groups upon the Court's reconsideration after Rapanos, in support of Justice Kennedy's test from Rapanos (supplemental to 2005 brief, below). U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
(2005) - Filed on behalf of National Wildlife Federation and other groups in support of Clean Water Act jurisdiction over the filling of wetlands impacting the Buzzards Bay watershed in Massachusetts. U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
In re Stormwater NPDES Petition
(2005) - Filed on behalf of National Wildlife Federation and former Vermont officials in support of the state agency's duty to enforce stormwater requirements in impaired watersheds. Vermont Supreme Court.
South Florida Water Management District v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians
(2003) - Filed on behalf of the Association of State Wetland Managers and the Tropical Audubon Society in support of Clean Water Act jurisdiction over the pumping of phosphorus-laden water into the Everglades. United States Supreme Court.
