Last week, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) filed litigation against the cities of Burley and Rexburg over ongoing violations of the federal Clean Water Act at wastewater treatment plants they operate. This action comes after Snake River Waterkeeper (SRW) and the Idaho Conservation League (ICL), represented by attorneys at Advocates for the West, […]
Representing the Idaho Conservation League (ICL) and Snake River Waterkeeper (SRW), Advocates for the West informed the cities of Burley and Rexburg of the organizations’ intent to sue over ongoing violations of the federal Clean Water Act at each city’s wastewater treatment plant. In addition to Advocates for the West, the conservation groups are represented […]
Get the latest on the work we’re doing to protect the West’s public lands, water, fish, and wildlife! Read the latest edition of our Case Notes newsletter here.
In response to conservation groups’ appeal of a water quality permit issued for the proposed Stibnite Gold Mine due to its inadequacy to protect water quality in the South Fork Salmon River watershed, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking to revisit the permit to address multiple shortcomings. The Idaho Conservation League and […]
A federal district court has ruled that the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) approval of the 5,000-well Converse County Oil and Gas Project in eastern Wyoming was illegal because the agency’s groundwater modeling contained major errors and grossly underestimated the depletion of groundwater by the massive oil and gas project. Drilling in this area has […]
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the longstanding requirement that suction dredge miners must obtain a Clean Water Act permit before engaging in the destructive activity. The Supreme Court rejected a petition to review prior federal court rulings that found gold miner Shannon Poe, of California, violated the Clean Water Act when he dumped suction […]
Sage-Grouse in Idaho Advocates for the West won a significant victory to protect the small and declining eastern Idaho sub-population of the imperiled greater sage-grouse when a federal judge fully vacated a set of approvals by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) authorizing development of the Caldwell Canyon phosphate mine. Phosphate from the mine was slated to be used by […]
Advocates for the West filed a lawsuit against the J.R. Simplot Company and Simplot Livestock Company for years of unlawful pollution discharges from the Grand View Feedlot into the Snake River in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Simplot’s Grand View Feedlot, located in the Snake River canyon about a one-hour-drive south of Boise, is one of […]
Get the latest on the work we’re doing to protect the West’s public lands, water, fish, and wildlife! Read our 2022 Annual Report here.
Advocates for the West recently filed a lawsuit challenging the controversial National Park Service management plan for expanding private agriculture at California’s Point Reyes National Seashore, one of a handful of national parks that permits cattle grazing. The Park Service plan paves the way for 20-year leases for beef and dairy ranchers in the park, enshrining and expanding commercial […]