Supreme Court Issues “Course Correction” to NEPA Jurisprudence, Emphasizing Statutory Text and Common Sense

June 3, 2025
Wesley S. Stevenson, Esq.
MGKF Litigation Blog

On May 29, 2025, the Supreme Court decided Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, reversing the D.C. Circuit’s determination that the Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) issued by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (the “Board”) in connection with an approximately 88-mile railroad line in northeastern Utah violated the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”).  Justice Kavanaugh, writing for the Court, concluded the NEPA question presented “is not close” and the Board was “absolutely correct” in declining to evaluate “environmental effects from separate projects upstream or downstream from the project at issue” in the EIS.

Read the full blog post.