In a suit to enjoin the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from approving the 1974 Logan Airport Layout Plan, the First Circuit remands the matter for a determination of mootness.
Counsel for PlaintiffsPeter Koff, Asst. Corporation CounselCity of Boston Law DepartmentOne City Hall SquareBoston M...

In a suit brought by neighboring landowners and an environmental association to enjoin construction of a highway bypass to be built with the partial assistance of federal funds, the court issues a preliminary injunction against further awards of contracts or construction pending preparation of an en...

A three-judge district court declares the state of Washington's Tanker Law, which regulates oil tanker navigation in Puget Sound, to be preempted by the federal Ports and Waterways Safety Act (PWSA). The court initially declines to hold that the Eleventh Amendment confers sovereign immunity on the s...

Reversing an order issued by the Environmental Hearing Board, the court finds that the Department of Environmental Resources (DER) has the power to direct municipalities to implement a regional solid waste management plan. Several of the townships previously adopted the plan, which DER had approved ...

The court grants summary judgment for defendants in a suit challenging the construction of sanitation facilities in Yosemite National Park and the approval of advertising promoting use of the park by business conventions. Plaintiffs err in contending that the federal defendants' actions constitute a...

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the Federal Power Commission (FPC fulfilled its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Federal Power Act in deciding to authorize construction of an electrical transmission line through the scenic Durham Valley. The case must be...

In a supplemental opinion issued in response to a petition for rehearing, the court reiterates its earlier holding, 7 ELR 20012, that §7(c) of the Administrative Procedure Act does not preclude assignment of the burden of persuasion to the opponent of an Environmental Protection Agency order suspen...

The court, in granting the state's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, finds that the Adirondack Park Agency Act does not create a de facto taking of private property for which compensation must be paid. Plaintiff owns 24,000 acres in the park upon which ...

Reversing a lower court decision, 4 ELR 20565, the Second Circuit declares that the Clean Air Act preempts New York City's ordinance concerning gasoline lead content and volatility. The challenged ordinance required phased reduction of lead according to a shorter timetable than that adopted by the E...

The court denies an oil spiller's motion for summary judgment in a suit challenging the validity of a $500 civil penalty assessed under §311(b)(6) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. Ward's attempt to raise constitutional objections to the civil penalty device by claiming...