WildEarth Guardians v. United States Office of Surface Mining Reclamation & Enforcement

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal by two mining companies of a Colorado district court decision that said the United States Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) had violated NEPA when it approved mining plan modifications for mines owned by the companies. While the appeal was pending, OSM completed new NEPA analyses and reapproved the plans, but the mining companies said that OSM’s reapprovals reset the statute of limitations for third-party challenges and included conditions adversely affecting their lease rights and requiring downstream studies. The Tenth Circuit concluded that the appeal was moot because it addressed only the now-superseded OSM actions and did not fall into the “capable of repetition but evading review” exception to the mootness doctrine.

The Tenth Circuit ordered the appellants—two coal mine owners—to submit briefs addressing the basis for appellate jurisdiction.

On June 29, 2015, the Tenth Circuit sua sponte issued an order questioning whether the district court’s judgment was final and suspending briefing. The order noted that the district court had not vacated agency approval of the expansion, and instead had given the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 120 days to fulfill its review obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), after which the court indicated it would issue an order of vacatur if the agency had not completed its work.