United States v. 32.42 Acres of Land
The Ninth Circuit held that the United States can extinguish California's public trust rights when exercising its federal power of eminent domain. The case involves 32.42 acres of land that the U.S. Navy has continuously leased from the state since 1949. The parcel is subject to California's pub...
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak
The U.S. Supreme Court held that a property owner may proceed with his APA suit against the United States claiming that the Secretary of the Interior lacked authority under §465 of the Indian Reorganization Act to take title to land in trust for a Native American tribe seeking to open a casino....
New York v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The D.C. Circuit vacated NRC rulemakings concerning the temporary storage and permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Four states, an Indian community, and a number of environmental groups filed a petition for review challenging NRC's "waste confidence decision" (WCD), which, among other thing...
National Ass'n of Regulatory Utility Commissioners v. United States Department of Energy
The D.C. Circuit held that the DOE Secretary's 2010 determination that there was no basis for suspending, or otherwise adjusting, annual fees collected from nuclear power plant owners and operators following the government's decision to discontinue its development of Yucca Mountain violated the Nucl...
Yankee Atomic Electric Co. v. United States
The Federal Circuit awarded a power company $17,021,742 in its suit against the U.S. government for the cost of storing spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste beyond the time that the government promised by contract to begin storing that waste in a permanent and secure reposit...
State v. City of Spokane Valley
A Washington appellate court held that the developer of 30 residential waterfront lots must seek a permit under the Shoreline Management Act of 1971 prior to building private docks to accompany the new homes. Because the docks would be designed for the private, noncommercial use of the owners of...
Robinson Township v. Commonwealth
A Pennsylvania appellate court enjoined for 120 days the effective date of a new state law, Act 13, that authorizes municipalities to regulate the location of oil and gas operations but not the manner in which they are operated. The court reasoned that municipalities must have an adequate opport...