North Dakota
Court case in North Dakota calls federal environmental review regime into question
BISMARCK — A lawsuit before a North Dakota federal district court could upend nearly five decades of environmental regulations affecting infrastructure projects.
The Council on Environmental Quality was created through an executive order by President Richard Nixon in 1969. It implements the National Environmental Policy Act, which directs federal agencies to assess how projects under their jurisdiction will impact environmental factors like air and water quality.
A coalition of 21 Republican-led states, including North Dakota, seeks to overturn a new regulation adopted by the council that took effect in July. The states argue that the rule introduces unreasonable requirements that will slow or even sink important infrastructure including new highways, airports, bridges and water systems, and unlawfully over-emphasizes climate change and environmental justice in the environmental review process.
In a lawsuit filed in May, the states asked the court to strike down the rule, direct the council to adopt regulations consistent with federal law, and reinstate a weaker version the agency enacted during President Donald Trump’s administration in 2020.
A group of 13 other states, plus the District of Columbia, New York City and a handful of advocacy groups, have joined the case on the side of the Council on Environmental Quality. The defendants argue the agency’s work is vital to protect the environment and public health, and that the 2024 rule should be left in place.
It’s possible that neither side will get what it wants. In a hearing earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor said the Council on Environmental Quality’s entire regulatory regime may be unlawful.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found in a
November order
that the agency does not have rulemaking authority because Congress never explicitly granted it the power to implement the National Environmental Policy Act. The appellate court did not strike down any of the council’s regulations, leaving it up to other courts to decide whether the rules should stand.
Traynor questioned how he could leave the regulations intact given the D.C. court’s findings. He said if he were to apply the court’s reasoning to the North Dakota case, he may conclude that all National Environmental Policy Act regulations passed by the council are void. The council issued its first rule implementing the act in 1978.
“If they have no authority, they have no authority,” Traynor said of the council. “It is a paper tiger.”
An attorney representing the Council on Environmental Quality, Gregory Cumming, rebuffed during the hearing the notion that the agency is operating without approval from Congress. The council keeps Congress apprised of its work with annual reports, he noted. If the assembly did not want the agency to pass rules, it could have passed legislation clarifying that stance, Cumming said.
Jan Hasselman — an attorney representing several advocacy groups that joined the case as defendants — said there’s a reason the council’s rulemaking authority has gone unquestioned for almost five decades.
“Nobody benefits when there’s no rules,” he told the judge. “It’s just sort of a mutually assured destruction.”
Traynor voiced skepticism that such a decision would create disarray. Even if the council’s rules disappear, other local and federal regulations would still be intact, he reasoned.
“It’s not like it becomes the Wild West,” he said.
Traynor asked the plaintiffs and defense to prepare legal briefs explaining how they would be impacted if he adopts the D.C. court’s reasoning.
The discussion came as part of a hearing on motions for summary judgment by the plaintiffs and defense. Both sides asked Traynor to decide the case in their favor without going to trial.
James Auslander, an attorney representing the plaintiff states, said the council is unlawfully and arbitrarily infringing on state sovereignty and the new rule will cause them significant economic harm.
“These are critical projects for plaintiff states and our citizens,” he said.
Cumming argued the plaintiff states have not demonstrated that the new rule has actually harmed them, and that many of the components of the rule challenged as cumbersome are guidelines, not requirements.
Traynor took the motions under advisement and has yet to issue a ruling.
The 21 plaintiffs states are Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kentucky, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, South Carolina, Kansas, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Texas and Alaska.
The 13 states that joined the defense as intervenors are California, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, Colorado, Michigan, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Wisconsin.
This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com
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North Dakota
Runners will soon trek across North Dakota to bring awareness for families grieving the loss of a child – KVRR Local News
FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — For more than 400 miles, 12 runners will trek across North Dakota to carry the stories of love, loss, and resilience from community to community.
“After having run Haven since 2017, the 10.15 Project came, and it just is so exciting because it’s really looking at pregnancy and infant loss and putting it in a new light. And really giving people the opportunity to do something that you can see and it’s meaningful,” said Jen Burgard, Founder and Executive Director of Haven.
The 10.15 Project was co-founded by Haven, an organization that supports grieving families. The relay begins on International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. And during the four days, the team hopes to bring awareness to families.
“It gives you pieces of solitude, of quiet, of reflection, and also a purpose. It gives you meaning, and I think endurance is one of the biggest pieces of this. It’s the endurance required to navigate pregnancy and infant loss is extreme. And I think this really mirrors that,” said Burgard.
While many of the runners come from different fields, many have also experienced a loss themselves.
“When it happened in my family, it was kind of something we were all struck by. You realize how common it is. And you know, I want to bring light to that,” said Ty Casey, Runner and Learning and Development Specialist at TrueNorth Steel.
Casey has multiple runs planned over the next few months, but with this run in particular, he hopes this will bring awareness.
“If this is one thing that can help bring light to it and help people be more open and help people to talk about it, and take some of the grief away that would be totally ideal for us just to help out a little bit,” said Casey.
The relay begins on October 15 in Medora and will end on October 18th in Fargo.
North Dakota
Behind the Badge – Spring Fever
Spring Fever
District Game Warden Sam Feldmann
As winter begins to fade and ice fishing begins to slow, everyone gets the itch to be outside on nice days when it’s warming and the sun is shining. People are beginning to think about their garden or outdoor projects around the house they have been pondering all winter.
While others have been thinking about open water fishing, getting the boat ready, hitting the field to look for shed antlers in a favorite spot they’ve been watching deer all winter, or slipping into the field to lure a spring gobbler into shotgun range with a new call they’ve been practicing with all winter.
With the excitement of warm weather and getting out to enjoy everything a spring day has to offer, I would like to remind everyone of a few things while enjoying what North Dakota has to offer.
This year is a registration year for all motorized watercrafts. This doesn’t just mean you have to renew your registration. It means that when you get the new red stickers sporting “28” on them that they must be affixed to both sides of the bow of the boat.
Another reminder is that if you are going shed hunting, there are a few things to remember. Shed antlers are legal to possess. This time of year, our officers receive lots of calls about shed hunters locating “dead heads,” which are animals that have died and the antlers are still attached to the skull plate.
If you happen to locate a dead head, you cannot possess it without contacting your local game warden and receiving a permit for the animal. Also, if you are going to shed hunt on posted private property or a Private Lands Opens To Sportsmen tract, you need to obtain permission to do so. Wildlife management areas and other state and federal lands are open to shed hunting, but a good rule of thumb is to check the regulations on public property before heading out.
If you are going to be chasing turkeys this spring through the timber, there are a few things that should be remembered. Make sure you have your tag with you when you are in the field. Remember that your tag is only legal for one bearded wild turkey. If you are lucky enough to harvest a turkey you fooled into coming to your calling and decoy, you must tag it before doing anything else.
One last reminder for the spring activities. Remember that all licenses, whether it’s a hunting license or fishing license, expired March 31 and needed to be renewed as of April 1, 2026
With these few reminders out of the way, remember to have fun and enjoy what the great state of North Dakota has to offer.
North Dakota
Retired Game & Fish Director facing new charge of molesting a child – KVRR Local News
MANDAN, N.D. (KVRR-KFGO) – Former North Dakota Game & Fish Director Terry Steinwand has been charged with molesting a child.
The Class “A” misdemeanor was filed after a Morton County District Court judge rejected a proposed plea agreement to a felony charge and prosecutors dismissed the charge while retaining the right to file an amended charge.
Steinwand is from Mandan. The 72-year-old is now charged with one count of sexual assault-offensive contact. The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail.
Steinwand was originally charged in September, 2025, when police say he admitted to sexual misconduct.
Steinwand worked for the Game & Fish Dept. for 40 years. He led the agency for about 15 years and retired in 2021.
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