States Sue Over Rolled Back Methane Flaring Rule
California and New Mexico on Tuesday sued to block the Trump administration from rolling back an Obama-era rule that would curb air pollution from oil and gas wells on public land.
Read moreInterior Department
Suit Claims Interior Department Cheating States of Income
A national nonprofit legal organization claimed in federal court Tuesday that several western states will suffer financially while coal, oil and gas industries will unfairly benefit from the unlawful actions of the Department of Interior’s Royalty Policy Committee.
Read moreSenate Panel Says Planned Overhaul of Departments in Limbo
Plans to overhaul the Interior and Energy departments are stalled until lawmakers receive more information about the cost-benefit of undertaking such a massive restructuring, a Senate panel told department heads on Thursday.
Read moreFeds Sued for Failing to Protect Endangered Mussels Habitat
The Center for Biological Diversity sued the federal government on Monday for not designating critical habitat for four species of endangered mussels in violated of the Endangered Species Act.
Read moreFeds Say Tribe Can’t Account for $14.5M in Grants
The federal government will not pay for a $14.5 million highway contract on Montana’s Crow Indian Tribe reservation because it says the tribe cannot find the receipts for the project.
Read moreMinnesota Businesses Slam Wilderness Mining Leases
The Trump administration’s renewal of two expired mining leases in Northern Minnesota drew a federal lawsuit on the first day of summer, from nine outdoor-recreation businesses who say the move threatens a pristine and iconic wilderness area.
Read moreNavajos v. USA
Several Navajo groups brought a federal complaint against the Department of the Interior for ordering the Kayenta Coal Mine to close in December 2019, without ordering it to be returned to its pre-strip-mine condition.
Read moreNational Park Upgrades
The Interior Department said Wednesday it would spend a total of $256 million to repair “aging National Park Service infrastructure” and address longstanding maintenance backlogs that have plagued the park service for years.
Read moreInterior Dept. Must Allow Review of Tribal Casino Land Docs
After losing a challenge in February to the Interior Department’s decision to set aside land for a tribal casino, a nonprofit will be allowed to assess whether the government wrongly withheld documents from the court record.
Read more$60 Million in Federal Grants Awarded to Preserve Tribal, State History
On Tuesday the Department of Interior and the National Park Service awarded more than $60 million in historic preservation grants to states and tribes. Since 1977, Congress has allocated money raised from oil and natural gas leasing contracts to fund to fund the grant program and preserve cultural heritage that might otherwise be lost.
Read moreUS Argues in Tribal Land Dispute in 10th Circuit
The U.S. Department of Interior argued before the 10th Circuit Wednesday in support of its decision to secure 76 acres of land into a trust for the otherwise landless United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, contending that it did not need to consult another tribe to do so.
Read moreFeds Renew Leases for Mining in Minnesota Wilderness
The U.S. Interior Department rescinded an Obama administration decision and reinstated mineral leases for a company that plans to build a copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota.
Read moreFeathers Ruffled Over Oil Development in Sage Grouse Habitat
The greater sage grouse is once again at the center of a heated land-use dispute, pitting environmentalists against industry representatives seeking to develop natural resources.
Read moreZinke Sued for Front Range Fracking Leases
Conservation groups filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday against Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for leasing public lands to oil and gas developers without properly informing the public of the risks.
Read moreInterior Department Still Searching for Dollars for Park Maintenance
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s decision to abandon steep admission fee increases at national parks, while welcomed by many, will fail to defray billions of dollars in the cost of backlogged maintenance projects, Interior Department officials told lawmakers Tuesday.
Read moreExpelled Tribe Members Say Feds Did Nothing to Protect Their Rights
Sixty-seven members of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe claimed in a federal complaint that the government officials tasked with protecting them have stood idly by after they were illegally expelled from the Michigan tribe.
Read moreInterior Dep’t Proposal Could End Protections for Threatened Species
The U.S. Department of the Interior proposed a rule to the White House this week that would effectively rescind most protections for hundreds of species of wildlife listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Read moreKentucky Coal Companies Fight Bond Increases for Mine Cleanup
A coalition of Kentucky coal companies sued U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke over the disapproval of state regulations related to protecting water quality at mining sites, claiming it will unfairly increase the amount of money collected to fund the cleanup of abandoned mines.
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