Court Battles

Garfield County et al. v. Biden et al. and Dalton et al. v. Biden et al. (Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monuments)

February 12, 2024 Court CaseUtahActive

NRDC joins the latest fight to defend the monuments from those who want to invalidate their borders.

NRDC v. California Department of Pesticide Regulation

February 6, 2024 Court CaseCaliforniaActive

NRDC is challenging California’s policy that allows pesticide-treated seeds to go unregulated.

NRDC v. U.S. EPA (Perchlorate)

January 19, 2024 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

Perchlorate, a toxic component of rocket fuel, threatens the drinking water of millions of people across the United States. NRDC went to court to force the EPA to act.

Potomac Riverkeeper v. U.S. Department of the Navy

January 10, 2024 Court CaseWashington, D.C., Maryland, VirginiaClosed

Thanks to a lawsuit brought by Potomac Riverkeeper Network and NRDC, the U.S. Navy must clean up its act on the Potomac River.

Center for Biological Diversity et al. v. Bureau of Land Management et al. (Willow Project)

November 13, 2023 Court CaseAlaskaActive

NRDC and partners are suing the agencies that have illegally approved the Willow oil development project—a ticking “carbon bomb”—in Alaska.

Amicus Brief: Athletics v. California Department of Toxic Substances Control

November 3, 2023 Court CaseCaliforniaActive

California has failed to fully implement hazardous waste laws at metal shredding facilities like Schnitzer Steel—and communities are suffering for it.

The Wilderness Society et al. v. Trump et al. (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument)

April 14, 2023 Court CaseUtahActive

The president does not have the authority to reduce or rescind national monuments created under the Antiquities Act. So we sued to protect Utah’s Grand Staircase–Escalante.

NRDC et al. v. Trump et al. (Bears Ears National Monument)

April 14, 2023 Court CaseUtahActive

NRDC and partners fought to restore protections to this national monument of incomparable cultural and natural significance.

Baez v. New York City Housing Authority

February 7, 2023 Court CaseNew York, New York CityActive

The agency’s failure to remediate mold and moisture in city-owned housing exposes residents to avoidable, sometimes deadly health risks. NRDC and community partners are holding it accountable.

NRDC v. EPA (Tetrachlorvinphos)

January 25, 2023 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

NRDC is fighting to ban the use of a dangerous pesticide in household pet products.

Maine People’s Alliance and NRDC v. HoltraChem Manufacturing Co. LLC, and Mallinckrodt US LLC

October 11, 2022 Court CaseMaineActive

In 2000, NRDC and the Maine People’s Alliance sued Mallinckrodt—a former owner of a plant that contaminated the Penobscot River with toxic mercury—to seek a cleanup.

Neighbors for Environmental Justice, et al. v. EPA, et al. (Methylene Chloride)

July 14, 2022 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

NRDC is demanding EPA do its job under the Toxic Substances Control Act and consider the serious risks methylene chloride poses to workers and communities.

NRDC et al. v. County of Dickson et al.

March 31, 2022 Court CaseTennessee, DicksonClosed

In the 1960s, manufacturing companies in Tennessee dumped a toxic industrial solvent that causes cancer, as well as reproductive and neurological harm, into an unlined landfill. NRDC helped to hold the companies to account.

Communities for a Better Environment v. Corteva Inc. et al.

February 15, 2022 Court CaseCaliforniaActive

NRDC is working with a top environmental justice watchdog to clean up a chemical plant in California.

Dirty Water Rule

September 1, 2021 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

The Trump-era rule narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act by revoking federal protections for countless streams, wetlands, and other waters.

National Audubon Society et al. v. David Bernhardt et al.

February 17, 2021 Court CaseAlaska, ArcticActive

NRDC and allies are suing over the Trump administration’s decision to open the heart of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing.

NRDC et al. v. McCarthy et al.

January 22, 2021 Court CaseUtahActive

When the BLM reopened the area around Utah’s Factory Butte to unrestricted off-road vehicle use, it did so without analyzing the impacts and without public notice. So we sued.

Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment et al. v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management et al.

January 20, 2021 Court CaseNew MexicoActive

The BLM failed to consult tribal communities and consider environmental impacts before it approved fracking permits in the Greater Chaco region of New Mexico.

The California WaterFix project

May 13, 2019 Court CaseCaliforniaClosed

The California WaterFix project was no fix at all. In a victory for the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, California abandoned its two-tunnel project in May 2019.

NRDC v. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

April 25, 2018 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

Thanks to legal action taken by NRDC and our partners, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is taking the necessary steps to permanently ban five harmful phthalates from children’s products.