The court holds that a consent judgment under which the United States acquired title to Horn Island in the Gulf of Mexico is null and void. Plaintiff-appellants had contracted to sell a portion of the island to the United States, which sought it as part of a proposed national park. The United States...

The court holds that claims, asserting violations of various environmental statutes, the common-law nuisance doctrine, and the Fifth Amendment's takings clause, based on landowners' allegations that a proposed business park's stormwater management system will not prevent petroleum-based pollutants f...

The court affirms a district court decision upholding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' denial of a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §404 discharge permit to fill wetlands as part of a rubble landfill project. The court first holds that the district court did not abuse its discretion whe...

The court holds that a district court has subject matter jurisdiction to determine whether a city, in light of its post-settlement actions, is estopped from refusing to approve a waste management company's construction of buildings on the south side of landfill property. A settlement agreement betwe...

The court holds that a U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) rule concerning natural resource damage (NRD) assessments under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not violate the Administrative Procedure Act or CERCLA. The rule, challenged by a manuf...

The court holds that environmental activists challenging the construction of a golf course in Lake Jackson, Texas, may not bring a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) citizen suit action against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or bring Administrative Procedure Act (APA), National Environmen...

The court holds several corporations liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for response costs associated with a New York landfill. The court first holds that by introducing competent proof that three of the defendant target corporations dispo...

The court pursuant to §505(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) affirms the award of litigation costs to plaintiffs for work reasonably related to the results obtained from their FWPCA citizen suit against a lead refinery. After the plaintiffs filed their FWPCA citizen suit, the U....

The court affirms that the denial of a Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) permit did not breach a contract between a developer and the government of the Virgin Islands allowing for the development of an island off the coast of St. Thomas. The court first holds that the agreement unambiguously grants...

The court holds that a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' determination that landowners' property comprised jurisdictional wetlands, which resulted in the recision of a private contract for the sale of the property, did not constitute a compensable taking. The court first holds that the cancellation of t...