The court affirms a lower court decision that under California law, an insurance company need not provide coverage for the costs property owners incurred responding to suspected soil and groundwater pollution. A state agency ordered the property owners to test their property after they were suspecte...

The court holds that the state water control board did not err in ordering a water company to obtain a permit to pump groundwater from two wells near the North Fork Gualala River. The board has permitting jurisdiction over "subterranean streams flowing through known and definite channels." The board...

The court reverses a lower court's denial of qualified immunity to conservation officers in an individual's 42 U.S.C. §1983 case against them for malicious prosecution and unlawful retaliation. Because a jury found the individual guilty for wanton endangerment, he cannot show the absence of pro...

The court holds that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by categorically refusing to consider the environmental effects of a potential terrorist attack in connection with its approval of a proposed spent fuel storage installation. The NRC ar...

The court rejects a real estate investor's claim for a charitable tax deduction stemming from a conservation easement he created on land sold to a developer. The investor claims that the easement permanently reduced the number of homes that could be built on the land from 62 to 30. But half of the l...

The court upholds a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule conditionally allowing the importation of Spanish clementines into the United States. Domestic fruit growers, concerned about the infestation of Mediterranean fruit flies, challenge the rule. They argued that the USDA must identify the l...

The court denies a petition for review challenging the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary's decision to grant a license for a liquefied natural gas facility in the Gulf of Mexico. The DOT's environmental impact statement for the project complies with the National Environmental Policy ...

The court holds that while §11.122(b) of the Texas Water Code significantly restricts the issues that may be reviewed in a contested-case proceeding, it does not altogether preclude one when a proposed water rights amendment requests a change in use but does not seek to increase the amount of w...

The court upholds the dismissal of a complaint against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) involving a 1986 settlement agreement that allocated refunds of crude oil overcharges. Under the agreement, the refunded overcharges would be apportioned between the parties to the settlement agreement, which ...

The court upholds a lower court decision refusing to hold a manufacturer of pollution control devices liable for the actions of one of its subsidiaries. A company who purchased pollution control devices from the subsidiary filed suit after the devices didn't perform as promised. It also filed suit a...