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)

August 31, 2023 Court CaseUtahActive

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

NRDC v. E. Scott Pruitt et al. (Neonic Pesticides)

May 15, 2023 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

Research shows neonics are highly toxic to wildlife, including key pollinators—and the EPA’s failure to act on that evidence violates the Endangered Species Act. So we’re suing.

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.

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.

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

April 7, 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.

Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments et al. v. FDA et al. (Antibiotic Resistance)

January 24, 2023 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

NRDC and a coalition of public health advocacy groups are suing the FDA to halt unnecessary uses of antibiotics in animal agriculture—and protect people and the environment.

Migrant Clinicians Network et al. v. U.S. EPA et al. (Streptomycin)

January 18, 2023 Court CaseUnited States, FloridaActive

Using the medically important streptomycin antibiotic as a pesticide increases the risk of antibiotic resistance and threatens the health of farmworkers, endangered species, and pollinators.

NRDC, Sierra Club, and Respiratory Health Association v. Illinois Power Resources Generating

December 31, 2022 Court CaseIllinois, PeoriaClosed

NRDC and partners fought to make sure the owners of the E.D. Edwards coal-fired power plant never again put local communities at risk from hazardous and illegal pollution.

NRDC et al. v. Dan Brouillette et al.

September 20, 2022 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

The Trump administration’s Energy Department abandoned its obligations to review and update efficiency standards. So we sued—and won.

NRDC et al. v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration et al.

August 4, 2022 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

Fuel economy standards are good for our economy and our planet. When the Trump administration unlawfully attempted to weaken enforcement of these standards, we challenged them—and won.

NRDC and United Auto Workers v. Louis DeJoy and U.S. Postal Service

June 21, 2022 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

The USPS’s backward plan to purchase 150,000 gas-powered vehicles is based on an environmental review packed with errors.

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.

Friends of the Earth et al. v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

February 24, 2022 Court CaseFlorida, MiamiActive

NRDC and our partners are advocating for the NRC to analyze the potentially grave environmental impacts of extending the operating licenses of two Florida nuclear reactors.

Keystone XL Pipeline Lawsuits

November 1, 2021 Court CaseNebraska, South Dakota, MontanaActive

The massive pipeline threatened our climate and public health—and the government’s approvals violated environmental laws. So we went to court.

League of Conservation Voters v. Trump (Offshore Leasing Ban)

April 13, 2021 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

Our broad coalition is fighting the Trump administration to keep our coasts permanently off-limits to oil and gas drilling.

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.

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance et al. v. David Bernhardt et al.

January 8, 2021 Court CaseUtahActive

The Trump administration snuck around a new conservation law to approve helium drilling in the iconic Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness. So we’re suing.

Concerned Pastors for Social Action v. Khouri

December 1, 2020 Court CaseMichigan, FlintActive

In a citizen-led case, NRDC and partners filed a lawsuit against the city of Flint and Michigan state officials for unlawfully exposing the people of Flint to lead-contaminated drinking water.