YOU in the WEST
Advocates for the West firmly believes that when it comes to protecting and defending our environment, we’re all in this together.
We envision an American West where: citizens and their governments honor and protect our environment; decision-makers use science and the law to mitigate climate change; and caring for the Earth and all its creatures to benefit future generations is a sacred trust.
Air Force Urban Warfare Training
Case: Case 1:19-cv-00103-CWD
January 15, 2020 — Advocates for the West filed our opening brief seeking summary judgment in this case. The U.S. Air Force had been unlawfully conducting urban warfare training within the Boise area for several years without notifying the public or conducting the required project analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Even after the…
Keeping Nuke Waste Out of Idaho
Case: Nuke Waste Notice Letter
On March 5, 2015, Advocates for the West announced it would be representing former Idaho governors Cecil D. Andrus and Philip E. Batt in a call to the State of Idaho and the federal Department of Energy to fully disclose their plans for shipments of commercial spent nuclear fuel to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Representing the Governors, Director of Litigation Laird Lucas sent…
FOIA Suit Against DOE
Case: Governor Andrus vs. DOE
September 29, 2015- Advocates for the West filed suit against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on behalf of former Democratic Governor Cecil D. Andrus in an effort to force the federal agency to comply with the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and publicly share information DOE has refused to release relating to proposed shipment of commercial spent…
Idaho Wildlife Services FOIA Lawsuit
Case: Western Watersheds Project v. USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services
On June 22, 2015, Advocates for the West filed a lawsuit in Idaho federal court on behalf of Western Watersheds Project against Wildlife Services to force the agency to disclose information about its wildlife-killing methods and activities in Idaho. The lawsuit alleges numerous violations of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA is a federal law that…
Dynamis Garbage Gasifier
Case: CVOC1221165
On November 19, 2012, Advocates for the West filed a petition for judicial review challenging the Ada County Commissioners creation of an industrial park at the County’s Hidden Hollow Landfill and approval of a lease agreement leasing nearly 10 acres at the landfill to Dynamis Energy, LLC. The petition, which was filed in Idaho state court…
K&W Dairy
Case: ICL v. Boer d/b/a K&W Dairy, No. 04-cv-250 (D. Idaho)
Clean Air Act citizen suit against large proposed dairy for failing to obtain a permit to construct under Idaho air quality rules. Because the dairy’s waste lagoons, manure piles, and barns would emit large amounts of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and particulates, it was required to obtain an air permit — but the dairy and Idaho regulators both…
