A district court dismissed a mining industry association's action challenging DOI Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) regulations allocating the burden of proof in five types of administrative proceedings under SMCRA. The association argued that the regulations impermissibly shift the ultimate...

A district court held that mining interests may go forward with their CWA, APA, and SMCRA claims against EPA in connection with memoranda and guidance documents concerning permitting processes for coal mining. The documents meet the criteria of final agency actions. The government's view of ...

The Ninth Circuit abandoned the "federal defendant" rule, which categorically prohibits private parties and state and local governments from intervening of right on the merits of NEPA claims. The case arose out of the U.S. Forest Service's adoption of a travel plan that designated 1,196 mile...

The Ninth Circuit held that BLM and the U.S. Forest Service did not violate the CWA, NEPA, or the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in approving a proposed mine expansion project in the Caribou National Forest. After evaluating the data, the agencies determined that remediation efforts w...

The Ninth Circuit held that BLM and the U.S. Forest Service did not violate the CWA, NEPA, or the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in approving a proposed mine expansion project in the Caribou National Forest. After evaluating the data, the agencies determined that remediation efforts w...

The First Circuit affirmed a natural gas company's conviction for storing hazardous waste without a permit in violation of RCRA. The company is precluded from challenging a 2002 EPA rule authorizing Rhode Island's RCRA regulations because it failed to use the proper statutory procedure for j...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that the Federal Highway Administration's (FHwA's) EIS for a new ferry terminal and highway project through a national forest in Alaska violated NEPA. Improving ferry services using existing resources is a reasonable alternative for improving transpo...

The First Circuit held that the U.S. Coast Guard violated NEPA when it issued regulations that preempt state environmental law with respect to tank vessels in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. In promulgating the rule, the Coast Guard used a standard environmental checklist that included prompts correspo...

A district court, on motions for summary judgment, held that a property owner may go forward with its CERCLA claims against a printing company for environmental contamination stemming from the company's operations, but it dismissed the owner's RCRA claims against the company. The printing compa...

A district court held that FWS complied with NEPA when it approved the opening and expansion of sport hunting in 60 National Wildlife Refuges. Between 1997 and 2005, the FWS issued nine final rules creating or expanding recreational hunting opportunities on 60 wildlife refuges. In 2006, a court...