The court holds that Federal Water Pollution Control Act §404(f)(1)'s agricultural exemption is to be construed narrowly to exempt only certain farming activities that do not reduce the size of wetlands or impede the circulation of water in wetlands. The owners of a cranberry farm containing the la...

The court holds that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) apparently violated neither the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) nor its own disclosure regulations in deciding to release a General Electric (GE) internal document that was submitted to it under subpoena during a licensing hearing, but r...

The court holds that the Corps of Engineers did not violate the consistency provision of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CMZA) in denying a Federal Water Pollution Control Act §404 fill permit, and that the Corps has jurisdiction over wetlands. Section 307(c)(1) of the CZMA does not prohibit Corps...

The court holds that neither the Endangered Species Act nor the Eagle Protection Act abrogated the federal treaty right of reservation Indians to hunt eagles and scissor-tailed flycatchers for noncommercial purposes. The court first establishes that Indian treaties are to be construed liberally in f...

The court rules that New Hampshire's license fees for transporters of hazardous materials do not unduly burden interstate commerce and are not preempted by the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA). The court holds that the licenses are essentially user fees, which are permissible so long as...

The court holds the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its Administrator in contempt for failure to regulate or delist radionuclides under §112 of the Clean Air Act pursuant to the court's earlier order. The court first notes that since it has already decided the non-discretionary duties imp...

The Court holds that the entry of a consent order prior to formal administrative action, coupled with reasonably responsible compliance with that order, constitute the diligent state prosecution necessary to preclude a citizen enforcement action under §505 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act...

The court rules that under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) parties potentially liable for wastes disposed of in the Lone Pine landfill in Freehold, New Jersey, may not obtain judicial review of an EPA-issued Record of Decision (ROD) obligating the A...

The court rules that the Army Corps of Engineers' inclusion of a broad grandfather clause in their October 5, 1984, Federal Water Pollution Control Act §404 regulations does not violate a settlement agreement reached in this case, 14 ELR 20262. The court first notes that administrative agencies, wh...

The court holds that when the United States condemns a public landfill that a municipality is obliged to replace, the Fifth Amendment does not require that the United States pay the cost of acquiring a substitute, so long as the market value of the condemned property is ascertainable and there is no...