The court holds that under Ohio law, the doctrine of res judicata bars property owners' Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) suit against the property's seller for leaving gasoline buried in the soil. The owners filed their RCRA suit in federal court after they litigated contract and fraud ...

The court holds that trade associations' action for judicial review of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule permitting the use of "any credible evidence" to prove or disprove Clean Air Act (CAA) violations is not ripe for review. The heart of the associations' argument is that the credi...

The court upholds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decisions to deny permits that would have allowed landowners to build camp structures on their property in the Atchafalaya floodway in Louisiana. The landowners purchased their property subject to a perpetual flowage, channel, and disposal easement...

The court holds that it lacks jurisdiction over a building association's appeal of a decision upholding the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') listing of four species of fairy shrimp as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The district court granted partial summary judgmen...

The court holds that environmental organizations have standing to assert an Endangered Species Act (ESA) §9 claim against a lumber company whose timber harvesting operations are allegedly causing the take of coho salmon. The court first holds that the organizations have satisfied each of the elemen...

The court holds that under the Clean Air Act (CAA), federal entities cannot remove to federal court state and local government actions to enforce air quality laws. A California air quality management district brought a suit against the United States in state court seeking civil penalties for a U.S. ...

The court holds that property owners and residents failed to satisfy Endangered Species Act (ESA) §11 notice requirements in their suit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) concerning an emergency housing project's alleged taking of endangered and threatened turtle species, but th...

The court holds that the permit administrator and South Carolina Coastal Council's denial of an application to build a new bulkhead on beachfront property in violation of the state Coastal Zone Management Act does not constitute an unconstitutional taking of the land between the existing and propose...

The court upholds a Connecticut municipality's regulation requiring owners of land partially within designated wetlands areas to obtain municipal approval before erecting structures on the land's nonwetlands portion. The court first holds that the regulation does not impermissibly expand the jurisdi...

The court holds that a Louisiana statute allowing direct appeal of decisions of the state Department of Environmental Quality to the state court of appeal, bypassing the state district courts, is unconstitutional, and the public rights doctrine has no application under the Louisiana Constitution. Th...