The Ninth Circuit held that the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA) preempts three local government agency rules aimed at limiting air pollution from idling trains. The rules have not become a part of California's EPA-approved SIP and, thus, do not have the force and effec...

The Tenth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing individuals' Price Anderson Act lawsuit against a mining company for injuries allegedly caused by their exposure to radiation from the company's uranium mill in New Mexico. The district court correctly granted summary judgment to the minin...

A Texas appellate court affirmed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's denial of a city's hearing request concerning a dairy's application for a major amendment to its concentrated animal feed operation permit. The amendment would allow the dairy to expand its dairy head capacity, increase...

A California appellate court reversed and remanded a lower court decision that a proposed development project approved by a county was categorically exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The county determined that the categorical exemption for in-fil...

A district court held that the state of New Jersey waived its right to pursue natural resource damages in its lawsuit against a company concerning groundwater contamination on property located in Franklin Township, New Jersey. The state issued a memorandum in 2001 and wrote a letter in 2003 stating ...

The court holds that a trial court properly dismissed a property owner's third-party complaint against an oil company for reimbursement of any cleanup costs the owner was required to pay to the state of New York in connection with gasoline contamination at the property. The oil company's predecessor...

The court reverses a district court decision that descendants of a Native American who was fatally injured on a logging site on a Native American reservation in Montana failed to state a cause of action under state law against the United States and that the Federal Tort Claims Act's (FTCA's) discret...

The court upholds a district court decision that Louisiana Act 315 of 1940 cannot be applied retroactively to mineral servitudes created prior to the Act but can be applied prospectively to post-1940 transfers. In 1929, a mineral servitude was created for two parcels of land in Louisiana. Between 19...

The court holds that res judicata bars a manufacturer's declaratory relief action seeking a declaration that insurers must indemnify the manufacturer for claims brought against it for harm caused by the discharge of chemicals to groundwater at a California site. In a prior action, a court held that ...

The court upholds the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') denial of Missouri's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for certain documents produced by a nonprofit corporation involved in the conservation and protection of the Missouri River. The corporation is made up of fish and wildlife co...