The court holds that a Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) enforcement action by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) against mining companies was not a regulatory taking of the companies' property. The action required the co...

The court holds that the state of Nebraska's challenge to the siting of a regional low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal facility in that state is barred by the regional LLRW disposal compact's 60-day limitation period. The state claimed that the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste ...

The court holds that under Pennsylvania law, the "sudden and accidental" exception to a pollution exclusion in a comprehensive general liability (CGL) insurance policy does not cover an on-going discharge of landfill pollutants that eventually find their way into the surrounding environment. The hol...

The court holds that South Carolina regulations and a permit condition prohibiting a landfill from receiving nonhazardous waste generated outside a seven-county region unconstitutionally burden interstate commerce. The regulations required any applicant for a permit to construct a nonhazardous solid...

The court holds that an insurer is not liable under a tenant's comprehensive general liability policies for the property owner's cleanup costs resulting from a diesel fuel leak from an underground fuel tank that the tenants installed on the leased property. After obtaining a judgment from the tenant...

The court upholds the U.S. Postal Service's (Postal Service's) determination that an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for a project involving the Postal Service's sale of its leasehold interest in an old post office site, the con...

The court holds that a state referendum that nullified a statute approving the construction and operation of a municipal solid waste facility did not violate the Equal Protection Clause, Commerce Clause, or Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution because the facility never had a valid permit. A ...

The court holds that under Wisconsin law, an insurer has a duty to defend its insured under the "wrongful entry" clause of a commercial policy against negligent trespass claims for damage to groundwells caused by a release of chemicals in a fire. The commercial policy defined its personal injury cov...

The court holds that under Minnesota law, an insured wood treatment company's deliberate disposal of pentachlorophenol (penta) sludge on the ground is not an "occurrence" within the meaning of primary comprehensive general liability or umbrella excess liability policies. Also, the court holds that t...

The court holds that the buyer of assets of three business entities that had leased underground oil storage tanks from a property owner may be held liable for the property owner's hazardous waste cleanup costs as a successor to one of the three predecessor corporations. The court first holds that st...