The court vacates a district court order that permanently enjoined enforcement of a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) regulation promulgated under the Marine Mammal Protection Act that defines the feeding of marine mammals in the wild as a prohibited "taking," because feeding the marine mamma...

The court holds that an amendment to a U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) land and resource management plan (LRMP) that prohibits the use of houseboats and sailboats and discourages the use of electric fish finders, boom boxes, and other mechanical devices on a lake that lies almost entirely withi...

The court holds that environmental groups have standing under the citizen suit provisions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to challenge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') reliance on a biological opinion developed by the U.S. Forest Service (Service) on the Forest Plan for the Flathead N...

On petition for rehearing, the court holds invalid the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) regulation defining "harm" to embrace habitat modification. The court finds that the Service's definition was not clearly authorized by Congress. The immediate context of the word "harm," as used in §9 of the...

The court rejects en banc a petition for rehearing in a case in which it had held invalid the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service's) regulation defining "harm" under §9 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to embrace habitat modification. The court first holds that the harm regulation does not...

The court denies class certification in a suit arising from groundwater contamination that the defendant allegedly caused, and, applying Missouri law, grants the defendant summary judgment on plaintiffs' claims for mental anguish, fear of cancer, increased risk of cancer, and medical monitoring. The...

The court holds that 28 U.S.C. §2462's five-year statute of limitations bars an action by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) §16(a)(2) that seeks civil penalties for violations of TSCA's premanufacture notice requirements that occurred more tha...

The court holds that a hazardous waste transport company that had substantial input into its customer's disposal facility selection "selected" the disposal facility and, thus, is liable as a transporter under §107(a)(4), of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. ...

The court holds that a state's attempt to force a debtor to clean up a waste site that poses an ongoing hazard is not a "claim" that, for purposes of bankruptcy, must have been filed by a date certain, and that the debtor is therefore responsible for cleaning up the site. After the deadline for fili...

The court holds that it lacks jurisdiction to review a district court order denying summary judgment to potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and refusing to enforce a settlement agreement under §113(f)(2) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Settl...