Court Battles

NRDC v. U.S. EPA (Perchlorate)

January 19, 2024 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

Perchlorate, a toxic component of rocket fuel, threatens the drinking water of millions of people across the United States. NRDC went to court to force the EPA to act.

Garfield County et al. v. Biden et al. and Dalton et al. v. Biden et al. (Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monuments)

January 11, 2024 Court CaseUtahActive

NRDC joins the latest fight to defend the monuments from those who want to invalidate their borders.

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

January 4, 2024 Court CaseUnited States, FloridaActive

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

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

November 13, 2023 Court CaseAlaskaActive

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

Amicus Brief: Athletics v. California Department of Toxic Substances Control

November 3, 2023 Court CaseCaliforniaActive

California has failed to fully implement hazardous waste laws at metal shredding facilities like Schnitzer Steel—and communities are suffering for it.

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

August 25, 2023 Court CaseEast, MidwestActive

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

Potomac Riverkeeper v. U.S. Department of the Navy

June 21, 2023 Court CaseWashington, D.C., Maryland, VirginiaActive

Potomac Riverkeeper Network and NRDC are suing the U.S. Navy for illegally discharging pollutants into the waters of the Potomac River.

Vaquita Lawsuits

June 2, 2023 Court CaseMexico, United StatesActive

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

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.

NRDC et al. v. Trump et al. (Bears Ears National Monument)

April 14, 2023 Court CaseUtahActive

NRDC and partners fought to restore protections to this national monument of incomparable cultural and natural significance.

The Wilderness Society et al. v. Trump et al. (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument)

April 14, 2023 Court CaseUtahActive

The president does not have the authority to reduce or rescind national monuments created under the Antiquities Act. So we sued to protect Utah’s Grand Staircase–Escalante.

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.

Baez v. New York City Housing Authority

February 7, 2023 Court CaseNew York, New York CityActive

The agency’s failure to remediate mold and moisture in city-owned housing exposes residents to avoidable, sometimes deadly health risks. NRDC and community partners are holding it accountable.

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.

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.

NRDC, Sierra Club, and Respiratory Health Association v. Illinois Power Resources Generating

December 31, 2022 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.

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.

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

July 14, 2022 Court CaseUnited StatesActive

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