The court denies a motion for a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) and upholds the Act's constitutionality against a broad attack alleging violations of the Commerce Clause, the Tenth Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment, as well as den...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds, with one exception, challenged portions of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) regulations establishing effluent limitations for seafood processors on the West Coast and in Alaska. There is sufficient evidence in the record to support EPA's decis...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the lower court's dismissal, 8 ELR 20386, of a suit by a disappointed bidder seeking to void the lease of a federally owned shipyard because of alleged violations of the National Environmental Policy Act and the Coastal Zone Management Act. Appellant challe...

The court denies petitioners' motion for rehearing of its earlier ruling, 9 ELR 20228, that it lacked jurisdiction to review certain regulations promulgated under the Noise Control Act of 1972. None of the regulatory provisions challenged in the rehearing petition were issued under §6 of the Act, t...

The court dismisses a petition for review of a Notice of Deficiency issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with regard to the sufficiency of the Illinois state implementation plan (SIP) on the grounds that the Notice is not "final action" reviewable under §307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Ac...

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the decision of the district court, 9 ELR 20686, dismissing an action seeking, inter alia, an injunction halting a federally funded highway project because of defendants' alleged failure to comply with the terms of the environmental impact statement (EIS) ...

The United States Supreme Court affirms a decision by the California Supreme Court, 9 ELR 20260, that two municipal zoning ordinances aimed at preserving open space do not represent a facially unconstitutional taking of appellants' property without just compensawtion. The Court determines that the c...

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms a lower court's decision, 9 ELR 20545, upholding the constitutionality of §125 of the Clean Air Act, which authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit noncompliant major stationary sources from burning fuels other than locally or regio...

The court remands the new source performance standards (NSPS) for lime manufacturing plants issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under §111 of the Clean Air Act after finding inadequate support for them in the administrative record. The standards set numerical and opacity limitations...

The court rules that a receiver shall be appointed to supervise the payment of a civil fine and the removal of thousands of drums of hazardous waste from defendants' property. After chemicals had leaked from defendants' waste storage facility into nearby waters, resulting in substantial losses of fi...