The Sixth Circuit affirms a district court judgment upholding the Interior Board of Land Appeals' (IBLA's) decision that a mining company violated federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) regulations requiring the elimination of cliff-like rock walls known as "highwalls" at its sur...

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not abuse its discretion or act arbitrarily or capriciously in invalidating a state-granted prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permit and finding that a state environmental agency's best available control technology (...

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may seek to enforce the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's (RCRA's) financial assurances requirements against an engineering company even though the state of Colorado already initiated an enforcement action against the company...

The court holds that the citizen suit provision of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), §520(f), provides a federal cause of action for the recovery of damages resulting from violation of state regulations that are a part of the state's surface coal mining and reclamation regulat...

A district court holds that the Clean Air Act (CAA) does not preempt New York's zero emission vehicle (ZEV) sales mandate and dismisses an action brought by automobile manufacturers seeking to enjoin the state from enforcing legislation that requires the sale of ZEVs beginning in the 1998 model year...

The court holds that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP's) zero emission vehicle (ZEV) regulations for automobile manufacturers are not identical to California standards as required by Clean Air Act (CAA) §177 and, thus, are preempted by CAA §209(a). In 1992, Massachus...

The court holds that the military and state secrets privilege and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) §6001 presidential exemption bar two RCRA citizen suits against the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The two suits alleged RCRA violations and sought...

The court holds that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) fulfilled its statutory obligations under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) to ensure that Nevada had sufficient funds enabling it to perform essential nuclear waste dump oversight activities at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The court first holds ...

The court upholds a U.S. Department of Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) determination that a company's failure to file a stipulation of entry rendered its mining claims null and void ab initio. When the Secretary of the Interior opened certain lands to mining claims in 1954, he required that a ...

The court holds that the Bureau of Reclamation violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by renewing water supply contracts with several water districts in California before consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The districts rely ...