The court, reversing in part the district court decision, 12 ELR 20040, invalidates Department of Commerce regulations that require tuna fishermen to carry inspectors on their boats as a condition to receiving Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) permits allowing the incidental taking of porpoises. T...

The Fifth Circuit denies petitions for rehearing of its ruling, 12 ELR 20994, that §311(g) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) does not bar the federal government's right under maritime tort law to recover oil spill cleanup costs from the owner or operator of a third-party vessel tha...

The Fifth Circuit, reversing in part the district court's decision, 12 ELR 20381, rules that the Corps of Engineers' environmental impact statement (EIS) for a deepwater port in Galveston, Texas, is inadequate and reverses the Corps' decision to grant construction permits. The court applies the Admi...

The court rules that the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) complied with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in approving construction of a jointly operated rail line and a connector rail line in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. After resolving challenges based on the Interstate Commer...

The court orders the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to propose regulations within 180 days establishing emission standards for radionuclides in compliance with §112 of the Clean Air Act. The court rejects EPA's proposal, mandated in an earlier decision, 12 ELR 20457, in which the court found...

The court upholds a district court decision, 12 ELR 20658, that §503(h)(3) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) requires the United States Forest Service (USFS) to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) before approving U.S. Borax's amended plan for mining at Qua...

The court rules that two fishing associations may intervene as of right under FED. R. CIV. P. 24(a)(2) in an environmental group's suit challenging the United States Forest Service's failure to prepare an environmental impact statement for mining activities in Misty Fjords National Monument, Alaska....

The court rules that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) may not allow site preparation activities for the Clinch River Breeder Reactor prior to issuance of a construction permit unless it finds that exigent circumstances warrant the exemption. Following a sua sponte reconsideration of the case,...

The court affirms the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) refusal to order a construction permit revocation hearing on the Seabrook Nuclear Generating Station. Initially, the court holds that NRC's refusal constitutes a final order which the court may review. It then holds that NRC is not requir...

The Sixth Circuit affirms the district court's ruling, issued pursuant to §521(c) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), directing a coal company and its agent to comply with an order issued by the Secretary of the Interior to remedy an imminent and hazardous danger to the publi...