The court holds that a Native American tribe lacked standing to challenge the transfer of land from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the state of South Dakota. The tribe argued that the title transfer will eviscerate the Secretary of the Army’s ability to enforce federal cultural protection...

The court holds that the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), in requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate national primary drinking water regulations, is a valid exercise of power under the U.S. Commerce Clause. Petitioners argued that the SDWA exceeds the federal government...

The court affirms a district court dismissal of an environmental group's National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and Department of Transportation Act challenge to the extension of a rail system because the group lacked standing. To establish standing under the Administ...

The court holds that the doctrine of issue preclusion bars a manufacturing company from relitigating whether an insurer has a duty to defend or indemnify the company in various class actions and administrative proceedings arising from environmental contamination at one of the company's plants. The i...

The court holds that it lacks jurisdiction over a gas station operator's appeal of a district court order requiring it to deposit money into an escrow account to pay for anticipated cleanup costs of neighboring contaminated property. The operator's liability for the cleanup has not been reduced to a...

The court upholds the dismissal of a property owner's inverse condemnation action against the state of Rhode Island for acquiring a portion of his property in 1975 by adverse possession. Because the owner failed to seek compensation through the state court, he forfeited his federal claim. Adequate s...

The court affirms a district court decision that New York Air Pollution Mitigation Law §66-k is preempted by the Clean Air Act (CAA) Title IV cap-and-trade system and violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Section 66-k requires the assessment of an air pollution mitigation offs...

The court dismisses a railroad's state-law and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) claims against two petroleum companies that operated pipeline terminals on the railroad's property. Claim preclusion barred the railroad from bringing suit against one of the...

The court holds that §21 of Article XVII to the South Dakota Constitution, which prohibits corporations or syndicates from acquiring or obtaining an interest in land used for farming and from otherwise engaging in farming in South Dakota, violates the dormant U.S. Commerce Clause of the U.S. Co...

The court reverses a district court decision that environmental groups failed to establish both standing and ripeness in their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) challenges to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule defining the new national forest managem...