The court rules that the Corps of Engineers did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §404(b)(1) guidelines in granting an FWPCA §404 permit to fill wetlands in the Hackensack Meadows, N...

The court refuses to grant appellants' emergency motion to enjoin a seal hunt on the Pribiolof Islands holding that appellants have failed to meet the extraordinarily high burden needed to stay an executive act involving foreign affairs. In fact, appellants have failed to meet even the ordinary burd...

The court rules that a third party that closely monitored litigation on an issue and chose not to press its right of intervention when it became clear that its interests would not be protected, can be precluded from later filing suit to attack the results of a consent decree resolving the litigation...

The court rules that new health studies did not constitute significant new information requiring the Navy to supplement its environmental impact statement (EIS) on Project ELF, its extremely low frequency (ELF) submarine communication facility, and that the district court erred in enjoining the proj...

The court rules that the Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by not preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) and worst case analysis for its seven-year action plan for sales of timber in the Mapleton District of the Suislaw National Forest. The court first r...

After ruling for federal defendants in this pesticide suit, 12 ELR 20769, and being reversed on appeal, 13 ELR 20901, the district court awards plaintiffs attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), reduced because of the attorneys' failure to properly document their time. The court ...

The court holds that the federal government is not liable to plaintiffs for its alleged failure to control black-tailed prairie dog populations. The court first holds that it is without subject matter jurisdiction over the counts involving claims for money damages against federal defendants in their...

The court holds that plaintiffs are not entitled to mandamus to force the government to control prairie dog populations, but that prairie dog control was not committed to agency discretion and so the court can review agency actions. For mandamus to lie, the duty to be compelled must be ministerial, ...

The court holds that the district court properly ordered appellant to restore wetlands he filled in violation of two consent decrees.
[The Fourth Circuit opinion on which the challenged restoration order was based is published at 14 ELR 20093. An earlier district court opinion in the case is publis...

The court holds that the environmental impact statement (EIS) for sludge disposal from the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant in Los Angeles sufficiently considered ocean dumping alternatives to the project to permit the decisionmaker to make a reasoned choice. The court first holds that although t...