A district court vacated the FWS' removal of the Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel from the list of endangered species. Instead of applying the criteria set forth in the squirrel's recovery plan when it issued the delisting rule, the FWS conducted an analysis based on the five listing factors contai...

A district court held that the former owner of contaminated property may be held liable under tort and the New York Navigation Law for failing to report or prevent the spread of that contamination. There are triable issues of fact as to whether the owner “caused or contributed to the disc...

The Third Circuit upheld regulations issued by the National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS) implementing an amendment to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan that, among other things, sets a "control date" that effectively terminates the access rights of general scallop fishermen w...

A California court ordered the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to set aside its "functional equivalent document" that evaluates the environmental consequences of its climate change scoping plan and to enjoin implementation of the scoping plan until the agency complies with its obligati...

The Fifth Circuit held that the Superfund Recycling Equity Act (SREA)—an amendment to CERCLA that exempts certain recyclers from liability for cleanup costs under CERCLA and awards costs and fees to any recyclers improperly sued for contribution under CERCLA—does not apply to state-law actions. ...

The Wyoming Supreme Court upheld a state-issued air quality permit authorizing a power plant's construction of a proposed coal-to-liquid facility and an associated underground coal mine. The court rejected an environmental group's claims that the permit fails to consider significant sulfur d...

A Michigan appellate court reversed the dismissal of property owners' nuisance claims against a manufacturing company for groundwater contamination. The lower court relied on Adkins v Thomas Solvent Co., 440 Mich. 293, 487 N.W. 2d 715 (1992), in dismissing the case. Adkins, however, was premised...

The Fourth Circuit held that a biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service as part of EPA's process of reregistering the insecticides chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion is subject to judicial review under the APA. The Service's biological opinion concluded that the...

A New York appellate court held that a property owner who had no knowledge of a UST on his property when he purchased it and did nothing to contribute to the contamination is nevertheless strictly liable as a discharger and not entitled to reimbursement from the New York Environmental Protec...

A district court held that residents' state law tort claims against the former owners of an industrial site should not be dismissed under the "primary jurisdiction" doctrine. The residents filed suit against the former owners for allegedly contaminating their property and persons with toxic,...