The court holds that the Spill Compensation and Control Act imposes strict joint and several liability for cleanup costs of hazardous substances spilled prior to the Act's effective date. The court finds that there is no constitutional inhibition against retroactive application of the 1980 amendment...

The First Circuit vacates the district court's injunction, 11 ELR 20424, against the transfer of Cuban and Haitian refugees to Fort Allen, Puerto Rico. Subsequent to the district court's decision, a consent agreement was reached between appellee Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the federal government...

The court rejects petitioner's challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Clean Air Act §120 notice of noncompliance, because petitioner failed to exhaust its administrative remedies. The court notes that the doctrine of exhaustion serves the dual purpose of preserving administrativ...

The court holds that the portion of the Environmental Protection Agency's consolidated permit regulations (CPRs) relating to the national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) is reviewable in the courts of appeals. Section 509(b)(1)(E) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) aut...

In a pre-trial ruling, the district court determines that environmental laws and regulations enacted prior to the filing of a notice of condemnation are relevant to a determination of the highest and most profitable use of defendants' condemned land. Defendants are the owners of property located in ...

The district court approves defendants' disposal of polycholorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a state-owned landfill in Warren County, North Carolina, against an array of challenges based on federal and state law. Plaintiffs, owners of property adjoining the landfill, sought injunctive or monetary relief...

The Supreme Court of Hawaii affirms the lower court's decision upholding the Bureau of Land and Natural Resources' (BLNR's) approval of the construction of underground utilities on the Paiko Lagoon Wildlife Sanctuary and its determination that the proposed activity was exempt from preparation of an ...

The district court holds that an environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared in connection with the proposed reconstruction and widening of North Carolina Highway 51 violates §§102(2)(C)(iii) and 102(2)(E) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The court rules that defendants failed to...

The district court holds that §312(f)(3) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) and the Michigan Watercraft Control Act of 1970 (MWCA) neither violate the Equal Protection Clause nor contravene congressional treaty-making powers. Initially, the court rules that Michigan's 1975 applicati...

The court rules that the Corps of Engineers complied with applicable state and federal environmental laws in constructing and operating a flood control and hydroelectric dam on the Sac River in Missouri. At the outset, the court rules that it has subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §1331(a)...