The Tenth Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court decision dismissing a Native American tribe member's indictment for shooting an eagle without a permit in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Act. The lower court ruled that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act precluded the government from p...
The D.C. Circuit affirmed a lower court decision upholding NOAA-Fisheries' denial of an emergency rulemaking petition concerning the protection of the North Atlantic right whale, but remanded its dismissal of claims concerning the U.S. Coast Guard's failure to consider the impact of some of its acti...
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 several corporations liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for response costs associated with a New York landfill. The court first holds that by introducing competent proof that three of the defendant target corporations dispo...
The court upholds the U.S. Forest Service's approval of four timber sales in the Ozark National Forest. A coalition of environmental groups sued the Forest Service to enjoin or set aside the timber sales. The court first holds that the district court did not abuse its discretion by limiting its revi...
The court holds that Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §107 cost recovery actions are not available to potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and that divisibility of harm is not a defense to §113 contribution claims. The court first holds that CERCLA d...
The court holds that summary judgment cannot be granted on the issue of corporate officers' Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) liability, but a successor corporation may be held liable under CERCLA. After a U.S. Virgin Islands clothing manufacturer dissol...
A recent headline on the front page of the Wall Street Journal hailed the opening of the nation's first "butterfly bank." The "deposits" in this unusual bank are conservation credits earned by preserving an important area of habitat for the Quino checkerspot butterfly, an endangered species restricted to California. The bank's intended customers are other landowners who hope to develop other sites where the butterfly occurs. In order to do so, they can buy credits from the private entrepreneur who established the butterfly bank.
Editors' Summary: The Select Steel decision marked the first administrative Title VI complaint that EPA decided on the merits. The complaint challenged the state of Michigan's decision to grant a permit to the Select Steel Corporation for a steel mini-mill in Flint, Michigan. EPA ruled that Michigan did not violate Title VI because the permit decision would have no adverse impact and, thus, no disproportionate impact, on the surrounding community. This Dialogue examines the background and context for the Select Steel decision.
The court denies a landowner's motion for partial summary judgment on claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Pennsylvania Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (PaHSCA) against a wire rope manufacturer that previously owned a portion of the cont...