EPA Challenging In Ninth Circuit Lower Court Ruling On Columbia/Snake Temperature Limits; Oral Arguments Scheduled
August 14th, 2019
The Environmental Protection Agency is challenging a 2018 lower court decision at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled the agency must complete temperature limits for the Columbia and Snake rivers.
Read the Full Article
Trump Administration Issues Rules Revising ESA Implementation; Lawsuits On The Way
August 14th, 2019
The Trump Administration unveiled “improvements” to the Endangered Species Act’s implementing regulations this week, drawing immediate opposition and promised legal action from environmental groups and some political leaders.
Read the Full Article
Washington State Seeks Public Hearings On EPA’s Efforts To Revise State’s Water Quality Standards, Fish Consumption Rule
August 8th, 2019
The Washington Department of Ecology is demanding the Environmental Protection Agency hold more than two “online public hearings” as the federal agency moves forward on efforts to revise the state’s “fish consumption rule” which guides water quality standards.
Read the Full Article
Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction in Willamette Dams Salmon/Steelhead Case; Does Say Conditions Of Fish Worse Since 2008 BiOp
July 3rd, 2019
A federal judge has denied the request of three conservation groups to order a federal agency to make immediate changes at federal Willamette River dams to improve conditions for migrating juveniles and spawning adult threatened spring chinook and winter steelhead.
Read the Full Article
Inslee Calls Trudeau Pipeline Decision ‘Alarming,’ Cites Risks Of Oil Spills In Shared Waters
June 20th, 2019
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Tuesday the Canadian government’s approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion was “alarming and deeply disappointing.”
Read the Full Article
Nez Perce Tribe Files Intent-To-Sue Notice Over Gold Mining Site In Area Of Salmon Restoration; Company Says Did Not Cause Current Pollution Issues
June 13th, 2019
The Nez Perce Tribe recently filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the Midas Gold Idaho, Inc., alleging the mining company has been illegally discharging arsenic and other pollutants at Stibnite Gold Project site in the headwaters of the South Fork of the Salmon River.
Read the Full Article
Court Order Sets Eight Year Timeline For Oregon Water Pollution Clean-Up Plans; Includes Several Columbia Basin Rivers
June 12th, 2019
Oregon and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have eight years in which to replace water pollution clean-up plans that allow temperatures harmful to salmon in some of the state’s key river basins, a federal court ordered late Tuesday.
Read the Full Article
Oregon, Idaho Reach Agreement On Hells Canyon Dams, Water Quality; Includes Salmonid Research
April 24th, 2019
The states of Oregon and Idaho this week announced a settlement agreement regarding the operation of the Hells Canyon Complex on the Snake River that is intended to benefit water quality, habitat, and Columbia/Snake river basin fish.
Read the Full Article
USFWS Proposes Lifting Federal Protections For Wolves; Legal Challenges Predicted
March 8th, 2019
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s top official announced this week the agency will propose lifting protections for wolves throughout the lower 48 states, triggering predictable opposition from environmental groups and continued litigation.