The court holds that a trial court erred in not evaluating evidence of environmental contamination and remediation costs related to a company's property that a regional economic alliance, acting for a town, took by eminent domain. The court first holds that excluding contamination evidence, as a mat...
A district court denied motions for summary judgment on states' claims that an electric utility modified one of its coal-fired power plants in violation of the prevention of signnificant deterioration (PSD) permitting requirements set forth in Clean Air Act §165(a). The court held that the rout...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that the U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard) did not violate appellants' First Amendment rights or the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it established safety zones insulating a private "super ferry" in Hawaii from blockade by local protesters...
A district court held that the Clean Air Act (CAA) does not preempt a local air district rule that requires developers to reduce nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions from their projects or to pay a fee to offset such emissions. The rule is not a standard subject to CAA §209. It neith...
The Seventh Circuit upheld a lower court order enjoining a power company from building a coal-fired power plant without first obtaining a new prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permit from the state of Illinois. The state's environmental agency granted the company a PSD permit in 2001. Th...
The First Circuit reversed a lower court decision dismissing a developer's equal protection claim against a town for intentionally obstructing a condominium real estate development project. The city ordered the developer to take certain remediation measures to control erosion and prevent damage to n...
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision denying a motion to dismiss environmental groups' National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) claim against the director of the South Carolina Department of Transportation concerning the construction of a bridge. The director argued that the claims aga...
A district court dismissed a county's lawsuit against a railroad company for allowing its locomotive engines to idle in violation of state air pollution law. This case involves railcars, the fumes they emit, and the tracks they use. Accordingly, its falls under the umbrella of federal regulatory aut...
The Federal Circuit reversed a lower court decision that U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations restricting a farm's egg sales during a two-year period due to the presence of salmonella bacteria constituted a taking for which just compensation is due. The farm's monetary loss due to the regulati...
The Eighth Circuit upheld as moot a lower court decision denying a hunting club's motion to preliminarily enjoin a power company from constructing a 600-megawatt pulverized coal-fired power plant in Hempstead County, Arkansas, without first obtaining a prevention of significant deterioration permit ...