The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court decision denying an organic farm's application for attorneys fees in its underlying CWA action against a county for discharging pesticides into U.S. waters without an NPDES permit. Below, the farm and county entered into a settlement agreement that limited...

The Second Circuit upheld the dismissal of homeowners' RCRA and CWA claims against a gun club in connection with their use of lead shot on a shooting range. The homeowners argued that by allowing lead shot to be discharged onto the property, the gun club was operating a hazardous waste disposal faci...

A district court granted in part and denied in part cross-motions for summary judgment in a development company's CERCLA, RCRA, and state nuisance claims against a variety of defendants concerning groundwater and soil contamination at its property. The company filed suit against the prior and curren...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue effluent limitation guidelines (ELGs) and new source performance standards (NSPS) for the construction industry and upheld a permanent injunction compelli...

The D.C. Circuit vacated U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules exempting major sources of air pollution from normal air emissions standards during periods of startups, shutdowns, and malfunctions (SSM) and imposing alternative, less onerous requirements in their place. EPA argued that the...

The Ninth Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, held that FWS did not arbitrarily or capriciously conclude that the West Coast range of the fisher—a medium sized mammal also referred to as the "fisher cat"—is a distinct population segment (DPS) that should be listed as a candidate for protection u...

A district court held that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) pattern and practice of administering Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §106 does not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. CERCLA §106 allows EPA to issue a unila...

A district court held that an oil company is entitled to a jury trial in the government's Oil Pollution Act (OPA) case against it for cleanup costs and damages stemming from a 2004 oil spill. The recovery of removal costs under OPA constitutes an equitable remedy. The company, therefore, is not enti...

The Fourth Circuit reversed and vacated a district court order rescinding four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits allowing the filling of stream waters in conjunction with mountaintop mining operations in West Virginia. All together, the four challenged permits authorize the creation of 23 valley ...

A district court held that a cause of action under §7002(a)(1)(A) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) can only be brought against an owner or operator of a polluting property who is "alleged to be in violation" of RCRA at the time the suit is brought. Under RCRA §7002(a)(1)(A), a ...