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Regulatory Framework for the Management and Remediation of Contaminated Marine Sediments

Editors' Summary: In 1989, a National Research Council study concluded that contaminated sediments are "widespread in U.S. coastal waters" and have "potentially far-reaching consequences to both public health and the environment." A 1996 interim EPA report reached a similar conclusion. This concern over contaminated sediments is not new. It has manifested itself in a dizzying array of statutory and regulatory restrictions on the disposal of these sediments.

Federal Wetland Mitigation Banking Guidance: Missed Opportunities

 In November 1995, five federal agencies—the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—issued joint guidance concerning wetland mitigation banking. The guidance's chief virtue is its detailed explanation of the approval process for the establishment and operation of mitigation banks. Its chief flaw, however, flows from the complexity of this approval process.

Ka Makani 'O Kohala Ohana Inc. v. Water Supply, Dep't of, County of Haw.

The court affirms a district court decision that the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS') and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) participation in a Hawaii Department of Water Supply (DWS) transmission project did not constitute a major federal action that triggered the National E...

Douglas County v. Babbitt

The court holds that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) does not apply to the Secretary of the Interior's designation of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The court first holds that an Oregon county has standing to challenge the Secretary's failure to comply with NEP...

Brenham Community Protective Ass'n v. Department of Agric.

The court holds that the Farmer's Home Administration (FmHA) did not act arbitrarily or capriciously when it issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) based on an environmental assessment (EA) regarding authorization of a loan for the construction of a federally assisted apartment complex fo...

Carmel-by-the-Sea, City of v. Department of Transp.

The court holds that most of the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed highway realignment through Hatton Canyon near Carmel-by-the-Sea in California satisfies the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The court then address...

Churchill County v. Babbitt

The court holds that a city and county have standing to challenge the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) for implementing a water rights acquisition plan in Nevada before preparing a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS). The court first holds that the National Environmental Policy A...

Gerber v. Norton

The D.C. Circuit held that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing to make available for public comment critical information in connection with a developer's incidental take permit application and by failing to make a statutorily mandated finding...

Russell County Sportsmen v. United States Forest Service

The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court decision invalidating the U.S. Forest Service's 2007 travel management plan for parts of the Lewis and Clark National Forest. Nothing in the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977, which requires the Service to manage a wilderness study area so as to "maintain"...