A district court held that BLM failed to take a "hard look" at the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing with regard to the agency's resource management plan (RMP) for public lands in California's central region. Under the resource management plan, 25% of new wells are expected to use hydraul...

The Ninth Circuit held that a mining company that operates a smelter in Canada should not be held liable as an arranger under CERCLA for the release and threatened release of hazardous substances in the Upper Columbia River. The company could not be said to have "arranged" for the "disposal" of haza...

A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service violated NEPA, the Wilderness Act, and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in connection with its decision to allow drilling, road reconstruction, and the use of motorized vehicles and heavy equipment at the Golden Hand Mine in the Frank Churc...

The Fourth Circuit upheld the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a dredge and fill permit to a surface coal mine. Environmental groups challenged the adequacy of the Corps' environmental review, arguing that the Corps violated NEPA and the CWA by failing to consider evidence that surface coal...

A New Jersey appellate court affirmed a lower court decision that dismissed as untimely shop owners' lawsuit against a town for injuries they allegedly suffered due to chemical vapors emanating from leaking USTs. Although the USTs belonged to the dry cleaner next door to the plaintiffs' shop, the ta...

A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service violated NEPA in connection with its approval of the "CuMo" project, a five-year mining exploration project located within the Boise National Forest in Idaho. The Forest Service failed to take a hard look at the project's impacts on the Sacajawea’...