The court holds that the Mineral Management Service (MMS) did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in promulgating a development and production plan (DPP) under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) for an oil and gas development project located off the north coast of Ala...

The court vacates a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of a Vermont labeling statute as it applies to manufacturers of mercury-containing light bulbs. The court first holds that the lamp manufacturing association challenging the statute failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits of...

The court reverses a district court's decision dismissing building owners' U.S. Commerce Clause claims against a waste authority for lack of standing. The building owners maintained that the authority's implementation of a waste generation fee structure effectively forced them to use the local facil...

The court reverses a lower court decision finding the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) liable for the permanent taking of a mining company's leasehold property. The mining company applied to the OSM for a permit and was told that its application was administratively incompl...

The court holds that a Pennsylvania township and its supervisors did not violate a developer's substantive due process rights by conspiring to delay and obstruct the developer's construction of an industrial park. The developer claims that the township and its supervisors conspired to delay the coun...

The court denies an environmental group's motion to preliminarily enjoin construction of a development project in Louisiana until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepares an environmental impact statement for the project. The court first holds that the Corps' finding of no significant impact for th...

The court grants environmental groups' motion to preliminarily enjoin the U.S. Forest Service from implementing a salvage project in the Bitterroot National Forest until any administrative appeals have been resolved pursuant to the Appeals Reform Act. After the final environmental impact statement f...

The court dismisses all of a hazardous waste transshipment company's equal protection, due process, and takings claims against the state of Connecticut, the Connecticut environmental agency, and the individual agency head for denial of a hazardous waste transshipment permit. The Eleventh Amendment b...

The court holds that a North Carolina county did not violate a company's due process or equal protection rights by not issuing the company a building permit for a proposed asphalt plant, by enacting a one-year moratorium on the building of asphalt plants, and by subsequently enacting a polluting ind...

The court holds that garbage mixed with recyclables is not "property" and, thus, Oregon State county and city trash hauling regulations are not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorizing Act (FAAAA). The lower court issued a permanent injunction preventing the county and city from ...