Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Department of the Interior

Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Columbia challenging approval of at least 3,535 applications for permit to drill (APDs) for oil and gas in the Permian Basin in New Mexico and in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. The plaintiffs asserted climate change-related violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). Under NEPA, the plaintiffs alleged a failure to take a hard look at cumulative greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting climate impacts and to use available tools for assessing the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from production and combustion of mineral resources authorized by the APDs. They also alleged a failure to consider environmental justice implications of increased greenhouse gas emissions and cumulative climate impacts. Under the Endangered Species Act, the plaintiffs asserted a failure to consult and reinitiate consultation on climate-threatened species. Under FLPMA, they asserted a failure to “take action necessary to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation in the context of climate impacts.”