The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service wrongfully denied environmental groups' request for a waiver of fees in connection with their procurement of geospatial information systems (GIS) data records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Although 7 U.S.C. §1387 allows the Secretary o...

The court upholds the grant of summary judgment in favor of a motion picture company that was sued by an environmental advocacy group because it used the group's "Earth Protector" trademark in a movie. There is no likelihood of confusion between the group's trademark and the company's use of the ter...

The court upholds the dismissal of real estate developers' illegal exaction and Fifth Amendment compensation claims. The developers relied on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (the Corps') 1988 wetlands delineation in purchasing the 470-acre plot at issue. Due to public controversy, however, the del...

The court upholds a lower court decision finding a company liable for response costs incurred at a former mining and processing operation in Libby, Montana, ordering the company to pay $54.53 million in reimbursement, including $11.32 million in indirect costs, and granting a declaratory judgment th...

A court preliminarily enjoins the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) from issuing any new project authorizations under "SAJ-86," a regional general permit that contemplates development of 48,150 acres in Northwest Florida, as well as any construction that is occurring or is about to occur as a res...

The court upholds in part and vacates in part the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) decision not to object to operating permits issued to coal-fired power generation plants in New York. The New York environmental agency's prior determinations that the plants were in violation of the Cle...

The court holds that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) fulfilled its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in approving revisions to a municipal airport's layout plan. In preparing its environmental assessment (EA) for the p...

The court reverses the acquittal of an individual who was convicted for negligently discharging pollutants into the Colorado River in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The lower court ruled as a matter of law that an individual is not guilty of negligently discharging a pollutant unless he kno...

The court holds that a Wisconsin state statute that forbids a city or county to regulate pesticides does not preempt a local ordinance forbidding the sale or use of phosphorous-containing fertilizers. Producers and suppliers of "weed and feed" lawn care products, which contain both an herbicide and ...

The court holds that §407 of the Flathead and Kootenai National Forest Rehabilitation Act does not violate the separation-of-powers doctrine. Under §407, timber sales can be implemented as long as each project area retains 10% designated old growth below 5,500 feet. Nothing in §407 di...