The court holds that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) did not relinquish its jurisdiction over the closure of defendant's landfill by commencing an action to compel compliance with a DEC closure order. The court holds that the trial court and the DEC do not have concurrent jurisdic...

The court holds moot a mining and smelting complex owner's appeal of the district court's refusal to quash an ex parte administrative inspection warrant issued to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The c...

The court holds that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is not required to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement on its animal productivity research, since USDA's decision to focus its research on developing faster growing, more productive, and larger animals is not a proposal for ...

The court holds that a defense to a collection action under §402(a) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) contending that reclamation fees need only be paid on the weight of the coal after it has been cleaned constitutes a challenge to SMCRA regulations and hence can only be bro...

The court holds that the 60-day notice provision in §112(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not apply to private cost recovery actions under CERCLA §107(a). The court adopts the reasoning in Dedham Water Co. v. Cumberland Farms Dairy, Inc....

The court holds that residents and owners of property in Times Beach, Missouri, can maintain a class action for response costs pursuant to §107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for damages related to dioxin contamination. The court holds that the plaintif...

The court rules that civil penalties assessed against a taxpayer pursuant to §309(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) and §113(b) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) constitute a "fine or similar penalty paid to a government for the violation of [a] law" and therefore are not deductible u...

The court rules that because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated final non-attainment area designations for California pursuant to §107(d) of the Clean Air Act without providing an opportunity for notice and comment as required by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the design...

The court rules that the exemption to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) contained in §501(c) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act (REAA) applies fully to the transfer of Cuban and Haitian refugees from Florida to Fort Allen, Puerto Rico. The district court had issued a preliminary inj...

The court holds that all hatchery fish must be included in the computation of Pacific Northwest Indian tribes' treaty share of fish and that the tribes have an implied right to environmental protection of the fish habitat. The Supreme Court had previously held, 9 ELR 20517, that the fishing rights c...