Court Battles

Since our founding in 1970, NRDC has been in court defending the environment and human health. Litigation is in our DNA.

Here, you can follow some of our landmark court battles as well as other legal advocacy, including administrative cases and amicus briefs. Whether up against a fossil fuel corporation or a government agency, NRDC will continue using facts, evidence, and the rule of law to enforce safeguards and hold polluters accountable.

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

May 29, 2024 Court CaseAlaskaActive

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

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.

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.

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

June 4, 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.

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

May 29, 2024 Court CaseAlaskaActive

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

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 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.

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.

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

May 15, 2023 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

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.

Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment et al. v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management et al.

February 1, 2023 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.

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

January 24, 2023 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

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.

Maine People’s Alliance and NRDC v. HoltraChem Manufacturing Co. LLC, and Mallinckrodt US LLC

October 11, 2022 Court CaseMaineActive

In 2000, NRDC and the Maine People’s Alliance sued Mallinckrodt—a former owner of a plant that contaminated the Penobscot River with toxic mercury—to seek a cleanup.

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.