The court holds that the ability to use a river in a recreational manner should be considered in determining whether the river is navigable-in-fact in a trespass case against kayakers and canoers on the South Branch of the Moose River in New York. The kayakers and canoers, who allegedly trespassed o...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service must prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for several timber salvage sales on fire-damaged land in the Umatilla National Forest in Oregon. The court first holds that the Forest Service did not take the requisite hard look at the environmental i...

The court holds that a state environmental agency did not have a duty to ascertain the accuracy of the location of wetlands on developers' property. The court first holds that the duty to depict accurately the location of wetlands was properly the duty of the developers and their representatives. It...

The court holds that a local air pollution control agency cannot seek civil penalties from a U.S. Air Force base for past violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and state law. The court first holds that Congress, through the CAA, did not waive U.S. sovereign immunity from liability for civil penaltie...

The court holds that a district court abused its discretion by staying a village's action for a food processor's unpaid sewer user charges on the ground that there was a pending state court action addressing the same issue. The court first holds that under the abstention analysis required by Colorad...

The court reverses a district court's acquittal of a tow boat company, a company officer, and the boat's captains for violating the Federal Water Pollution Control Act by dumping pollutants into a river without a permit. The district court acquitted the defendants after a jury found them guilty. The...

The court reinstates a neighborhood association's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Federal Aid Highway Act (FAHA) claims against federal and state agencies for failing to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) addressing the construction of a bypass around Salisbury...

The court reverses a district court's dismissal of a peat company's Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §404 and takings claims against the federal government concerning a proposed §404 permit. The court first holds that the district court erred in finding that it did not have subject matt...

The court grants summary judgment to a company that allegedly violated its Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §404 permit by filling wetlands in contradiction of its mitigation plan. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorized the company's filling and mitigation plan under Nationwide Perm...

The court holds that the federal governments' denial of a developer's application for a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §404 permit to dredge and fill certain underwater lakebottom property did not constitute a regulatory taking. The developer claimed that the denial resulted in a takin...