The court holds that a district court abused its discretion by abstaining from hearing property owner's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) claims against two petroleum companies. The court first holds that Florida's underground storage tank (UST) program is preempted to the extent there i...

The court affirms a district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), finding that its denial of Connecticut's petition for rulemaking under the Magnuson-Stevens Act was not arbitrary or capricious and was consistent with all relevant law. Connecticut soug...

The court holds that a metal mining operator's claims against the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for allegedly revising the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act's (EPCRA's) toxic release inventory program as it applies to the mining industry without formal rulemaking are rip...

The court holds that a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule establishing a bifurcated schedule for hazardous waste combustors to comply with strict new emission standards is arbitrary and capricious. The rule, promulgated under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Resource Conservation and Rec...

The court affirms a district court holding that a city was liable for contributing to illegal dumping at two garbage dumps in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and that the director of the state environmental agency could not be held liable for RCRA violations. Resident...

The court holds that Massachusetts' environmental superlien statute, which allows the commonwealth to place a priority lien on property after spending money assessing or cleaning up a polluted tract of land, evades the Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay provision. The case arose after Massachusetts so...

The court denies an environmental group's petition to review the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) approval of Maryland's revised motor vehicle emissions budget (MVEB) for the Baltimore ozone nonattainment area. In 1999, EPA determined that the MVEB in the state's attainment demonstrati...

The court upholds the conviction of a fertilizer company owner who allowed hazardous waste to be disposed of without a permit while knowing that his actions placed others in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, but the court vacates a district court order requiring the owner to pay a $...

The court affirms a February 2001, district court order requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make an air quality attainment status determination for the St. Louis, Missouri, area and to publish it in the Federal Register by March 20, 2001, and affirms a subsequent court order ...

The court grants an environmental group's motion for partial summary judgment against Pennsylvania officials for failing to implement the state-enhanced vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program in 16 counties by November 15, 1999, as required by the Pennsylvania state implementation plan (SI...