The court holds that an environmental group is not entitled to attorney fees and costs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in connection with the group's Freedom of Information Act request for data on Maryland state agencies' pesticide use. The court first holds that the district court ab...

The court upholds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) decision to waive, under 40 C.F.R. §258.40(e), the composite liner requirement of §258.40(a)(2) for a municipal solid waste landfill on non-Native American land located within the boundaries of the Yankton Sioux Reservation in So...

The court holds that a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) consent decree between potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is procedurally and substantively fair, and consistent with CERCLA's objectives. The ...

The court holds that a potentially responsible party (PRP) seeking to recover its landfill remediation costs from other PRPs may not maintain a cost recovery action under §107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The court first holds that plaintiff...

The court holds that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) preempts a home manufacturer's third-party contribution claims against manufacturers and distributors of a wood preservative that allegedly injured a person residing in one of the home manufacturer's homes. The home...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service may not allow livestock to graze in two pastures in the Boise National Forest before the agency completes consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service under §7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act. The pastures are located in an area designated...

The court upholds rail-to-trails conversion effected under the National Trail Systems Act. Although plaintiff village initiated the suit in state court as a quietclaim action, asserting title to a right-of-way that a railroad transferred to a company for trail use, it is in essence a collateral atta...

The court holds that before the U.S. Forest Service issued a permit to graze cattle on federal lands in the Malheur National Forest in Oregon, it should have required the permittee to obtain certification from the state under §401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) that the grazing ...

The court holds that the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not bar a citizen suit against a California state official for violating the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) by failing to control stormwater discharges from roadways and maintenance yards. The court first notes th...

The court holds that regulations Oregon and Washington issued governing salmon fishing in the Columbia River did not violate the Endangered Species Act (ESA), because they complied with and were contemplated by the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS') ESA §7 incidental take statement for thr...