The court reverses a district court decision and holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) does not have discretion under Endangered Species Act (ESA) §4 to make an initial determination to list a petitioned species beyond the ESA's 12-month deadline for making final determinations. The c...

The court holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's (FWS') decision that the westlope cutthroat trout (WCT) did not warrant listing as an endangered or threatened species was arbitrary and capricious. The FWS concluded that listing the WCT under the Endangered Species Act was unwarranted because viabl...

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may seek to enforce the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's (RCRA's) financial assurances requirements against an engineering company even though the state of Colorado already initiated an enforcement action against the company...

The court holds that the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) amended contract with a nuclear power plant operator constituted a direct payment of Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF) monies and was unlawful under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA). DOE entered into contracts with the nuclear power plants to fu...

The court holds that the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) does not authorize a citizen suit against a California city's solid waste disposal site for violation of RCRA authorized state regulations that are more stringent than federal minimum standards. The court first holds that RCRA au...

The court holds that home builders lack standing to bring an Endangered Species Act (ESA) §11 citizen suit against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for issuing a technical correction to a final rule without using the required Administrative Procedure Act no...

The court denies several utilities' and states' broad request for a writ of mandamus that would require the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to begin disposing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act's (NWPA's) January 31, 1998, deadline. But the court precludes DOE from excusing ...

The court holds that an electric arc furnace dust recycler's petition to review a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) rule that excludes electric arc furnace dust from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's (RCRA's) hazardous waste list was not filed within RCRA §7006's 90-day fili...

The Court holds that an environmental group lacks standing to maintain a suit for purely past violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). After receiving notice from the group of its failure to report EPCRA information in a timely fashion, the manufacturer filed all...

The court holds that the military and state secrets privilege and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) §6001 presidential exemption bar two RCRA citizen suits against the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The two suits alleged RCRA violations and sought...