Environmental Case Law Update – 1st Six Months of 2017

Our latest environmental case law update covers the first six months of 2017, and it briefly reviews what we believe are the most significant environmental and administrative law decisions issued by the federal courts and selected state appellate courts. Although the U.S. Supreme Court’s environmental law docket is unusually small in numbers, the Court continues to issue important rulings that will eventually have an impact on future environmental law disputes.

The first six months of 2017 have seen the federal courts issue important rulings in Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and Superfund matters, with more Endangered Species Act decisions being made every year. The state appellate courts continue to grapple with fundamental state law questions, with significant climate change decisions being made with some frequency.

Photo:  U.S. Department of Agriculture – Dusky Gopher Frog-a  – Creative Commons