The Eighth Circuit held that individuals could not be criminally prosecuted under the CWA for discharging raw sewage from a towbarge moored on the Mississippi River and used as a restaurant, bar, and gas station. Although sewage is considered a pollutant under the CWA, "sewage from vessels" is exclu...

The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court's dismissal of an environmental group's CWA suit against a manufacturing company, finding that the group's intent to sue letter provided the company sufficient notice of its claims. The group properly notified the company of its intent to sue at least 60 days...

The Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that a taking occurred when a property owner's interest in an unused railroad easement was converted to a public recreation trail under the Rails-to-Trails Act without just compensation. Under the shifting use rule as applied in California, a publi...

The Eighth Circuit upheld the FWS' denial of a river outfitter's application for an special use permit (SUP) to provide canoe, tube, and kayak outfitting on the Niobrara River in the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. The outfitter failed to prove that the FWS' temporary moratorium on issuing S...

A district court held that nationwide permit (NWP) 21, which authorizes the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States associated with surface coal mining and reclamation operations, does not comply with the plain language, structure, and legislative history of the CWA. D...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that the U.S. Forest Service's issuance of a permit to operate a bison capture facility in Montana did not violate the ESA or NEPA. The Forest Service, along with the FWS, agreed that the facility might adversely affect certain bald eagle populations...

The Seventh Circuit denied an environmental group's petition to review EPA's approval of the ozone SIP and maintenance plan for the St. Louis metropolitan area. The court rejected the petitioner's argument that the area's maintenance plan was deficient. An area need not use photochemical grid modeli...

The Ninth Circuit held that grass residue remaining after harvesting Kentucky bluegrass is not solid waste under RCRA and that the Act does not prohibit growers' general practice of open burning. The court rejected a citizens group's argument that open burning is the discarding of waste. The group f...

The Eleventh Circuit held that the National Park Service (NPS) violated §113(c) of the Wilderness Act when it ran tourist vans through Cumberland Island, Georgia. Section 113(c) bars motor vehicles in wilderness areas except as necessary to administer the area for purposes of the Act, and offer...

The D.C. Circuit denied petitions to review EPA's decision to include an industrial site bordering the Hudson River on the NPL. EPA's decision was reasonable and supported by the record, and the companies challenging the listing were given sufficient notice of the inclusion. EPA's listing properly i...