Court Battles

California Trucking Association v. South Coast Air Quality Management District et al.

April 9, 2024 Court CaseUnited States, California, Los AngelesActive

When industry sued to stop implementation of SCAQMD’s Warehouse Indirect Source Rule, NRDC intervened to defend this life-saving regulation.

NRDC et al. v. City of Los Angeles et al. (China Shipping)

April 9, 2024 Court CaseUnited States, California, Los AngelesActive

In partnership with community-based organizations, NRDC is pushing the highly polluting Port of Los Angeles and its terminal operators to clean up their act.

Concerned Pastors for Social Action v. Khouri

April 5, 2024 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.

Healthy Gulf v. FERC (Commonwealth LNG)

March 13, 2024 Court CaseLouisianaActive

A massive new liquefied natural gas export facility has been approved in an already overburdened environmental justice community. So we’re suing.

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.

Keystone XL Pipeline Lawsuits

January 1, 2024 Court CaseNebraska, South Dakota, MontanaClosed

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

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

December 1, 2023 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.

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.

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.

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.

Fastlane Transportation, Inc. et al. v. City of Los Angeles and BNSF Railway Co.

September 21, 2021 Court CaseCalifornia, Los AngelesActive

When the city of Los Angeles approved the construction of a noisy, polluting rail yard in a low-income community of color, NRDC went to court on behalf of local groups.

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.

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.

South Carolina Coastal Conservation League v. Ross

November 30, 2020 Court CaseSouth Carolina, EastClosed

NRDC, partners, and coastal states sued to stop seismic blasting in the Atlantic Ocean, which threatens marine life like the endangered North Atlantic right whale.