A district court held that the Virgin Islands may go forward with its suit to recover response costs it incurred responding to the release of hazardous substances at a former alumina facility. Under CERCLA, at least some costs must be incurred prior to the start of litigation in order for a plaintif...

The Second Circuit vacated and remanded a lower court decision dismissing as time barred New York's CERCLA claims against several defendants for costs a town incurred investigating and addressing groundwater contamination stemming from the New Cassel Industrial Area. The lower court held that the st...

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing environmental groups' claim that the U.S. Navy and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) violated NEPA, the ESA, and the APA in deciding to install and operate an undersea warfare training range in waters adjacent to the only kno...

The Ninth Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, held that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) did not violate the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) or NEPA when it authorized Idaho, Oregon, and Washington to kill up to 85 California sea lions annually at the Bonneville Dam in order to prote...

A district court upheld critical habitat protections for the marbled murrelet, a small seabird found in the Pacific Northwest that nests in old-growth forests. FWS designated critical habitat for the tri-state population of marbled murrelets in 1996. In 2010, FWS determined that delisting the murrel...