A district court dismissed environmental groups' claim that the Department of Homeland Security's waiver of various federal environmental laws with respect to the construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border under the REAL ID Act of 2005 was unconstitutional. The court lacks the power to in...

A district court granted a motion to dismiss Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, and New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act claims filed against the state environmental agency and its commissioner in connection ...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of state takings claims arising out of a state ban on open-pit mining for gold or silver by the cyanide heap leaching process. The plaintiffs, who prior to the ban had acquired leases of Montana state property for the purpose of mining gold, silver, and other t...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by classifying certain units of a proposed timber sale as roaded. Because the Forest Service considers the challenged units as roaded, the studies and research that formed the basis for the envi...

The court affirms a district court's orders denying environmental groups' motions to enjoin timber sales as violative of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA) and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The court first holds that the district court properly denied the environmental groups' motions to ...

The court holds that a state environmental agency that denied a landowner's request for setback variances from wetlands regulations to build a single-family home on his property did not effect an unconstitutional taking. The court first holds that any claim the landowner had that his application was...

The court holds that a U.S. Forest Service timber sale on the George Washington National Forest in Virginia was not arbitrary and capricious and did not violate the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) or the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as alleged by a neighboring landowner. The court ...

The court holds that restrictions on a road paving contractor's land use permit for locating a temporary asphalt plant at a gravel pit do not violate the contractor's substantive due process and equal protection rights, or unduly interfere with interstate commerce. The court first holds that the sub...

The court upholds the U.S. Forest Service's decision to grant a cellular phone company a special use permit for a telecommunications facility on Dead Indian Mountain in the Fremont National Forest, Oregon. The court first holds that the Forest Service's decision to grant the permit was not arbitrary...

The court holds that a consent judgment under which the United States acquired title to Horn Island in the Gulf of Mexico is null and void. Plaintiff-appellants had contracted to sell a portion of the island to the United States, which sought it as part of a proposed national park. The United States...