Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic v. Bureau of Land Management

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed without prejudice an appeal of the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction in cases challenging the Willow project, a major oil development project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. In February, the Ninth Circuit temporarily enjoined certain construction work for the duration of the appeal. The plaintiffs agreed to dismissal of the appeal after the oil and gas company agreed not to take certain actions until December 1, 2021.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the continuation of a temporary injunction on certain construction activities related to a major oil and gas development project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska while the plaintiffs appeal the district court’s denial of their motions for a preliminary injunction. The district court concluded that the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) claims because the claims were time-barred under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act (NPRPA). The Ninth Circuit found that the plaintiffs raised a serious question regarding whether the NPRPA’s time limit on filing claims for judicial review applied in this case. The Ninth Circuit further found that the plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, that at least one of their NEPA claims was likely to succeed if timely, that the balance of equities favored relief, that the balance of hardships tipped sharply in the plaintiffs’ favor, and that an injunction was in the public interest.