On August 20, 2026, the U.S. Forest Service published a proposed rule to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule across approximately 44.7 million acres of inventoried roadless land within the National Forest System, which is roughly 23 percent of the system’s total acreage. The 2001 rule established a nationwide prohibition on road construction and…
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In PacifiCorp v. Sixkiller, No. 24-4803, 2026 WL 2277099 (9th Cir. Aug. 7, 2026), the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal with prejudice of PacifiCorp’s challenge to Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (“CCA”). PacifiCorp argued that the Washington State Department of Ecology violated the Dormant Commerce Clause through enforcement of decarbonization requirements under the CCA by providing no-cost…
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On June 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a significant decision affecting pesticide manufacturers and product liability litigation nationwide, ruling 7-2 that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims that challenge EPA-approved pesticide labels. The decision, authored by Justice Kavanaugh, resolves a circuit split and is expected to significantly…
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In an unpublished opinion, Food & Water Watch; et al. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, No. 25-384 (9th Cir. May 21, 2026), the Ninth Circuit vacated and remanded a district court ruling that had found the addition of fluoride to drinking water at 0.7 mg/L presents an unreasonable risk to human health under the…
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed two major revisions to federal environmental regulations affecting coal-fired power plants, signaling a significant shift in federal policy and a broader effort to support continued coal-based electricity generation. The proposed changes, announced in a pair of rulemakings in April and May 2026, will revise portions of the…
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In G.B. by & through G.P. v. United States Env’t Prot. Agency, No. 25-2473, 2026 WL 959839 (9th Cir. Apr. 9, 2026), the Ninth Circuit for the United States Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a constitutional challenge brought by a group of minors against the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and related federal entities. The…
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On February 19, 2026, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed Senate Bill 71 (Act 2026-81), a law that significantly changes how Alabama state agencies may adopt and enforce environmental regulations. The law establishes a federal ceiling for most environmental standards and introduces a heightened evidentiary threshold for regulating substances not currently addressed at the federal level….
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In Ex parte DuPont De Nemours, Inc., No. SC-2024-0514, 2025 WL 1009062 (Ala. Apr. 4, 2025), the Alabama Supreme Court granted mandamus relief to several PFAS-related defendants and limited the Water Works and Sewer Board of the City of Gadsden’s second lawsuit over PFAS contamination in the Coosa River. Gadsden Water previously sued a different…
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On January 9, 2026, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced that the agency will reassess the safety of paraquat, an herbicide that remains legal in the United States despite bans in other countries. The decision reflects renewed scrutiny of paraquat’s health risks, particularly its alleged connection to Parkinson’s disease, and it…
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In Skipper v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 796. F. Supp. 3d 996 (S.D. Ala. 2025), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama partially vacated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (“FWS”) critical habitat designation for the black pinesnake, offering guidance on how agencies must justify occupied habitats and evaluate economic…
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