Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivers first opinion in case involving records disclosure

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday against an environmental group that sued the government for internal studies detailing potential harm to endangered aquatic species in the first major opinion by Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

The Sierra Club sued the Obama administration in 2015, arguing the Freedom of Information Act required the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serviceto disclose studies about the biological impact of an Environmental Protection Agency rule outlining how power plants draw water to cool machinery.

The case marked the first time Barrett took part in oral arguments, which had been set days after she joined the Supreme Court last fall. The former federal appeals court judge and law professor was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump to replace the late Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.