The D.C. Circuit held that used potassium hydroxide (KOH) shipped for reuse to a fertilizer company is a "waste" under RCRA. EPA filed suit against an aerospace casings manufacturer under RCRA after it shipped used KOH to a fertilizer company. The manufacturer argued that the used KOH was not waste ...

The Ninth Circuit held that a city was not entitled to response costs incurred as a result of perchlorate contamination in its water supply. In response to the contamination, the city implemented a wellhead recovery program. It now seeks recovery of costs associated with that program. But the city f...

A district court held that the Minerals Management Service's (MMS') decision to offer approximately 29.4 million acres of public lands on the outer continental shelf of the Chukchi Sea for oil and gas leasing violated NEPA. Although much of the agency's extensive investigation was appropriate, it fa...

A district court set aside a FWS rule partially delisting the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf distinct population segment (DPS). The ESA unambiguously prohibits the FWS from listing or protecting part of a DPS. By listing and/or protecting something less than a DPS, the FWS violated the plain term...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower court decision that leases between a power company and various governmental agencies for a geothermal power plant near Medicine Lake, an area of spiritual significance to Native American tribes in the region, could be extended. The orig...

The Tenth Circuit affirmed in part a lower court decision dismissing an individual's APA claim seeking to set aside certain U.S. Forest Service actions that impacted the individual's livestock grazing permits on the Gila National Forest. In 2002, the Forest Service temporarily cancelled 25 percent o...

A district court dismissed a landfill owner's CERCLA §§107 and 113 claims against a company for recovery of costs and other damages it allegedly incurred or will incur in connection with its landfill in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The company's subsidiary, which is now insolvent, operated ...

The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court decision denying an environmental group's motion to preliminarily enjoin a timber salvage sale in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. The group showed that there was a likelihood of irreparable harm; that there were at least serious questions on the mer...

The Eleventh Circuit upheld an EPA Environmental Appeal Board decision finding a property owner liable for failing to comply with EPA's lead-based paint disclosure regulations. EPA had the authority to issue regulations under the Lead Hazard Act, which requires specific language to be provided in sa...

A district court held that the FWS' revised designation of critical habitat for the contiguous U.S. distinct population segment of the Canada lynx violated the ESA. The designation identified approximately 39,000 square miles of habitat in Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington an...