A district court dismissed a water district's nuisance and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) cost recovery claims against a chemical company for contamination on its land, but denied the company's motion to dismiss the water district's contribution and Re...

The U.S. Supreme Court held that §136v(b) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) does not preclude states from providing a remedy to farmers and others who are injured as a result of a manufacturer's violation of FIFRA's labeling requirement. FIFRA §136v(b) pree...

The Fifth Circuit held that when a party withdraws one of its claims before the trial court enters judgment and the action is subsequently dismissed on the merits, the trial court's failure to indicate that the withdrawn claim was dismissed without prejudice does not render its decision a "final jud...

The Seventh Circuit held that a citizens suit seeking to challenge cleanup efforts at Superfund sites in Indiana was improperly dismissed. The lower court improperly concluded that the action was premature because active remedial planning was underway. For the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (E...

The D.C. Circuit held that in renewing a company's license to operate a hydroelectric project, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) did not err in requiring the company to develop and implement a plan to monitor invasive plant species at the project. FERC has authority to require the plan...

The Second Circuit affirmed individuals' convictions for violating the Clean Air Act's (CAA's) asbestos work practice standards but vacated the individuals' sentences. The lower court's instructions, which permitted the jury to convict the individuals without finding that they were aware of asbestos...

A district court ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to repeal 40 C.F.R. §122.3(a), which exempts ballast water from national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permitting requirements. The Clean Water Act directly states that EPA must form NPDES permit requiremen...

The D.C. Circuit held that §116 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) creates no continuing appropriation from the Nuclear Waste Fund to Nevada for nuclear waste disposal activities. The state asked the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to fund its participation in a Nuclear Regulatory Commissio...

The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Alabama's and Florida's challenge to a settlement agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Georgia, various state and municipal water authorities, and a nonprofit utility association concerning water rights associated with the Buford Dam, located...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that the United States holds ownership rights to the submerged lands off the shores of the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Because the covenant establishing the commonwealth's political union with the United States places sovereignty an...