A district court partially denied an environmental group's motion for summary judgment on claims against a city for Clean Water Act (CWA) violations stemming from sewage spills at its collection system and wastewater treatment plants. As there are no isolated wetlands at issue in this case, Justice ...
A district court enjoined, for the second time, the U.S. Forest Service's 2001 roadless rule, which prohibits road construction, road reconstruction, and timber harvesting in inventoried roadless areas across the nation. The Forest Service's failure to rigorously explore and objectively evaluate all...
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision refusing to set aside a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) determination that a landowner converted wetlands in violation of the Swampbuster provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985, thereby rendering her ineligible for certain farm program pa...
The Third Circuit denied a petition for review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) determination that a company must comply with national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for "fabric finishing operations." The solvent used in the company's operation is, by definition...
The Seventh Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a town's claims against an oil company for violating a local nuisance ordinance directing the company to clean up a Superfund site within 10 days or face daily fines of up to $750 until the nuisance is abated. The town's claims are preem...
The Federal Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded in part a lower court's assessment of damages in a contract dispute arising from the government's failure to accept and dispose of radioactive waste from nuclear utilities. The nuclear utilities originally brought this action seeki...
The Federal Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded in part a lower court's assessment of damages in a contract dispute arising from the government's failure to accept and dispose of radioactive waste from nuclear utilities. The nuclear utilities originally brought this action seeki...
The Ninth Circuit held that the government-approved use of artificial snow on a portion of a public mountain sacred to Native Americans does not violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA). At the heart of the tribes' claim is the planned use of recycled wastewater, which contains 0...
The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court decision in favor of environmental groups on their Clean Water Act (CWA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) claims against several developers working on a residential condominium project in the San Bernardino Mountains. The lower court determined that the devel...
A district court held that the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act does not allow for damages based solely on a seller's failure to disclose where the buyer of residential property does not incur any costs investigating or cleaning up the undisclosed lead-based paint. Consequently, the...