Court Battles

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

June 30, 2025 Court CaseAlaskaClosed

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

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

December 20, 2024 Court CaseCalifornia, Los AngelesClosed

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.

Vaquita Lawsuits

December 18, 2024 Court CaseMexico, United StatesClosed

NRDC and our partners are fighting to save the last of the vaquita.

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

October 31, 2024 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

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.

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

August 6, 2024 Court CaseFlorida, MiamiClosed

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.

Healthy Gulf v. FERC (Commonwealth LNG)

July 24, 2024 Court CaseLouisianaClosed

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

NRDC et al. v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service et al. (Rusty Patched Bumblebee)

July 18, 2024 Court CaseEast, MidwestClosed

For the fourth time, NRDC headed to court to secure habitat protections for the endangered rusty patched bumblebee.

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

July 15, 2024 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

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.

Environmental Justice Health Alliance et al. v. Council on Environmental Quality et al. (NEPA Rule)

May 31, 2024 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

The Trump administration is rolling back critical environmental reviews and blocking public participation under the guise of “streamlining.” So we’re suing.

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

April 30, 2024 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

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

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.

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

January 4, 2024 Court CaseUnited States, FloridaClosed

After NRDC and our partners sued the EPA, the medically important streptomycin antibiotic may no longer be lawfully sold or distributed as a pesticide.

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

January 1, 2024 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

The USPS’s plan to purchase gas-powered vehicles was based on an environmental review packed with errors. So we sued.

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.

Fehily v. Biden (Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument)

March 21, 2023 Court CaseUnited States, EastClosed

Once again, NRDC and our partners have moved to intervene to defend the monument’s legality.

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 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.

Migratory Bird Treaty Act Lawsuits

March 1, 2022 Court CaseUnited StatesClosed

To reinstate bedrock protections for more than 1,000 species of birds, NRDC and partners challenged a radical reinterpretation of the MBTA.