Safeguarding Water

Case: Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Save the South Fork Salmon, and Earthworks v. Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

February 27, 2026 — Representing Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Earthworks, and Save the South Fork Salmon, Advocates for the West along with co-counsel at the Western Environmental Law Center filed a petition for review with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) challenging a permit the agency issued early this year to Perpetua […]

Case: N/A

December 23, 2025 — Representing Idaho Conservation League, Advocates for the West sent a 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue over Clean Water Act (CWA) violations to Tricore Investments, LLC and company associates for unlawfully excavating a channel in the Coolin Wetlands on the south shore of Priest Lake in northern Idaho. The notice letter stems […]

Case: Idaho Conservation League and Golden Eagle Audubon Society v. U.S. Forest Service

February 20, 2026 — Advocates for the West filed our motion for summary judgment, opening brief in support of our motion for summary judgment, statement of facts, and accompanying declarations in this case. June 25, 2025 – Advocates for the West and Idaho conservation groups filed suit against the U.S. Forest Service for its approval of a […]

Case: Save the South Fork Salmon, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Earthworks, Center for Biological Diversity, and American Rivers v. U.S. Forest Service, et al.

August 25, 2026 — Advocates for the West and our partners filed an appeal seeking to reverse federal agencies’ unlawful approval of the Stibnite Gold Project and halt Perpetua Resources’ initial mine construction. The proposed open-pit cyanide leach gold mine would jeopardize public health and clean water, harm threatened species and permanently scar thousands of […]

Case: States of Utah and Wyoming v. Deb Haaland, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Conservation Lands Foundation, and The Wilderness Society

October 1, 2024 — Advocates for the West and our partners at Conservation Lands Foundation, The Wilderness Society, and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance filed a motion to intervene to defend BLM’s Public Lands Rule against yet another lawsuit brought this past summer by the American Farm Bureau and other industry trade associations representing the oil […]

Case: Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Save the South Fork Salmon, and Earthworks v. Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

August 7, 2026 — Advocates for the West filed our opening brief in this matter challenging a Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification issued by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. In May 2026, we filed an amended appeal of a water pollution permit issued under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water […]

Case: Columbia Riverkeeper and 1000 Friends of Oregon v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

January 8, 2026 — In response to the lawsuit brought by Advocates for the West and our partners, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc.’s current proposal to construct a diesel refinery at Port Westward requires another major federal permit. Construction for NEXT’s proposed refinery and rail yard would involve driving heavy […]

Case: Snake River Waterkeeper v. J.R. Simplot Company and Simplot Livestock

June 24, 2024 — A federal judge issued a memorandum decision and order denying Simplot’s motion to dismiss the case. Simplot filed a motion to dismiss the case in July 2023, arguing that Snake River Waterkeeper (SRW), our client-partner in the case, “failed to describe exactly where, when, and how such alleged illicit discharges occur” […]

Case: Idaho Conservation League v. U.S. Silver

March 30, 2023 — Representing the Idaho Conservation League (ICL), Advocates for the West filed a Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen enforcement suit against mining company U.S. Silver for unlawful discharges of arsenic, lead, and other pollutants at the Galena Complex Mine in north Idaho. The pollution into the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River and […]

Case: Resource Renewal Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, and Western Watersheds Project v. National Park Service

August 28, 2026 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed an appeal by Marin attorney Andrew Giacomini of the district court’s decision denying intervention to anonymous “Doe” ranching tenants. The tenants sought to intervene in our case against the National Park Service that resulted in a landmark agreement and all dairies […]