The court holds that a Mendocino County initiative ordinance prohibiting aerial application of phenoxy herbicides is not preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) nor the California Food and Agriculture Code. The court begins its analysis of the state preemption qu...

The court rules that §207(c) of the Clean Air Act does not authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow a manufacturer to offset widespread nonconformity with the Act's emission standards in a class of motor vehicles by achieving extra emission reductions in future classes instead o...

The court holds that §6001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act does not waive sovereign immunity to state criminal actions. In an action against the Veterans Administration arising under California law governing disposal of hazardous waste, the court first notes that a waiver of sovereign...

The court holds that awarding attorney fees to a defendant-intervenor under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) would not be appropriate, even though defendants prevailed on the merits, since intervenor's participation did not substantially contribute to the goals of the ESA. The court rejects the inte...

The court holds that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) acted withinits broad authority under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) when it issued operating licenses for Units 2 and 3 of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) based on its determination that the seismic design of SONGS provides...

In a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §505 citizen suit to enforce state and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits, the court holds that plaintiffs have standing, that plaintiffs' reliance on defendant's Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) to establish current FWPCA vio...

The court holds that appellants were not denied substantive due process by congressional designation of their property as part of the Coastal Barrier Resources System (System) pursuant to the Coastal Barrier Resources Act. Appellants claim their Topsail Island, North Carolina, property does not fit ...

The court holds that the Maryland Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program is constitutional as applied in Carroll County. The court holds that there is little likelihood that plaintiff would prevail on its claim that the inspection program violates the Fourth Amendment. The public has no reasonable exp...

The court holds that environmental groups that won substantial relief in litigation to enforce a consent decree requiring the implementation of Pennsylvania's automobile emission inspection and maintenance (I/M) program are entitled to attorney fees and costs under Clean Air Act §304(d). The court ...

With a five-Justice majority, the Court rules that §301(l) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) does not bar issuance of fundamentally different factors (FDF) variances from pretreatment standards governing discharges of toxic pollutants from industry categories. The Court first notes...