The court holds that the trustees of a manufacturer's estate are liable for the trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination under state nuisance and environmental laws. A district court issued interlocutory orders finding the trustees liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, an...

The court holds that a city and county have standing to challenge the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) for implementing a water rights acquisition plan in Nevada before preparing a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS). The court first holds that the National Environmental Policy A...

The court dismisses a township's and construction company's lawsuit against a city under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for failing to extend wastewater treatment services outside the city's boundary, even though the outlying area was included in the city's plan for a federally funded waste treatment pla...

The court holds that a state court action brought by a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) potentially responsible party (PRP) to obtain from state documents pertaining to an environmental cleanup cannot be removed to federal court. In state court, the PRP ...

The court upholds a district court decision dismissing school districts and parents' action against the Washington state treasurer and superintendent of education to stop the state from reducing the school districts' state-mandated aid by the amount of federal forest funds it receives. Under 16 U.S....

The Third Circuit vacated a lower court decision dismissing, on grounds of abstention, environmental groups' RCRA and CWA citizens suit in which they sought an injunction requiring the current and prior owners of a contaminated site to remediate contaminated sediments in the Raritan River. The group...

Maryland's highest court held that an environmental group has standing to challenge the state environmental agency's issuance of a nontidal wetlands permit for a development project. The permit allows a town to construct a road extension and stream crossing in order to provide primary access into th...

A district court held that EPA's Multi-Criteria Integrated Resource (MCIR) Assessment and Enhanced Coordination (EC) Process, adopted to screen mountaintop mining permits, violates the CWA and the APA. The MCIR Assessment involves EPA applying the CWA §404(b)(1) guidelines and directing the Corps o...

A California appellate court reversed and remanded a lower court decision denying water districts' motion to amend a 1961 judgment that imposed a "physical solution" on the West Coast groundwater basin. The districts wanted to store water in underground dewatered storage spaces of the basin that...

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing individuals' claims that a city violated its NPDES permit for municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s). They alleged that the city's MS4 discharges into an estuary are causing and contributing to ongoing violations of the water...