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The Climate Litigation Database

Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment v. U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs

Geography
🇺🇸 United States / Arizona
Year
2016
Document Type
Litigation
Part of
Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment v. Bureau of Indian Affairs

About this case

Filing year
2016
Status
Petition for rehearing en banc denied.
Geography
🇺🇸 United States → Arizona
Docket number
17-17320
Court/admin entity
United States → United States Federal Courts → United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.)
Case category
Federal Statutory Claims (US) → Endangered Species Act and Other Wildlife Protection Statutes (US)Federal Statutory Claims (US) → NEPA (US)
Principal law
United States → Endangered Species Act (ESA)United States → National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
At issue
Challenge to expanded coal strip-mining operations at the Navajo Mine and extended coal combustion at the Four Corners Power Plant.
Topics
, ,  

Documents

Filing Date
Document
Type
Topics 
Beta
12/11/2019
Petition for rehearing en banc denied.
Decision
10/04/2019
Order issued directing intervenor-defendants-appellees to file response to petition for rehearing en banc.
Decision
09/12/2019
Petition for rehearing en banc filed by appellants.
Petition For Rehearing
07/29/2019
Dismissal affirmed.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging federal agency actions that reauthorized coal mining activities on land reserved to the Navajo Nation. The Ninth Circuit agreed with the district court that the Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC)—a corporation wholly owned by the Navajo Nation and the owner of the coal mine—was a required party that could not be joined due to tribal sovereign immunity. The Ninth Circuit further concluded that the district court had not abused its discretion in determining that the lawsuit could not proceed without NTEC.
Decision
05/18/2018
Amicus brief filed by Navajo Nation supporting appellees and affirmance of the district court decision.
Amicus Motion/Brief
02/16/2018
Brief submitted by United States as amicus curiae in support of reversal.
Brief
02/09/2018
Opening brief filed by appellants.
Brief

Summary

Challenge to expanded coal strip-mining operations at the Navajo Mine and extended coal combustion at the Four Corners Power Plant.

 Topics mentioned most in this case  
Beta

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Group
Topics
Policy instrument
Risk
Impacted group
Just transition
Fossil fuel
Greenhouse gas
Economic sector
Adaptation/resilience
Finance