The D.C. Circuit held that the USDA's decision to alter territorial lines of the Devil's Garden Wild Horse Territory section of the Modoc National Forest was in violation of NEPA. Since 1975, the United States Forest Service has protected and managed wild horses in the Devil’s Garden section in No...

The D.C. Circuit held that the USDA did not violate the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) when it renewed the licenses of animal exhibitors the agency knew was in violation of numerous animal welfare requirements. Animal activists brought suit against the agency, challenging its renewal of a license to an Io...

A district court held an Alabama industrial park owner can't pursue claims against the federal government for damage to its property that occurred during a Superfund cleanup. As part of the cleanup, EPA disposed of, cut, severed, tore up from the ground, and removed roughly 1,400 feet of track owned...

The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court decision that allocated 100% liability under CERCLA to a government contractor seeking contribution from the U.S. government. For 60 years the contractor operated a manufacturing facility where it manufactured aircrafts primarily for the U.S. government. F...

A district court ruled that passive migration of benzene from a former steel mill to an adjoining shipyard does not make the owners liable for a "disposal" under CERCLA. The plaintiff's shipyard contained a "graving dock," which is used for the "repair or scrapping of ships under dry conditions." Th...

A district court held that an industrial chemical company is not liable for fines for refusing to comply with an administrative order under CERCLA. In an previous decision, the company was found jointly and severally liable for the release of dioxin at the Centredale Manor Restoration Project Superf...