A district court dismissed environmental groups' CWA suit against a coal mine for new source performance standard violations. Because the groups filed suit just 11 days after sending the mine its notice of violation, the mine claimed that the groups failed to comply with the 60-day notice requiremen...
A district court dismissed a quarry operator's lawsuit against the state environmental agency for violating its constitutional rights when it denied the operator's application to use certain fill material at a reclamation site. The state denied the application because the fill to be used at the site...
The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed a lower court decision dismissing the state environmental agency's contribution action against a dry cleaner under the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act to recover costs incurred in investigating and remediating PCE-contaminated groundwater. The a...
The Federal Circuit affirmed a lower court decision denying an environmental group's motion to intervene in a takings suit filed by property owners claiming that the government's releases of water from a dam in central California unlawfully impaired their property rights in the water and inundated t...
A district court held that reheater replacements at a Louisiana power plant constitute a major modification and do not qualify for the routine maintenance, repair or replacement exception to the CAA's PSD provisions. In Wisconsin Electric Power Co. v. Reilly, 893 F.3d 901, 20 ELR 20414 (7th Cir. 199...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing gold miners' suit against the U.S. Forest Service challenging its decision to limit the use of motor vehicles to certain roads in the El Dorado National Forest. The miners have standing to pursue their claim. At least some of the miners ha...
The Fifth Circuit withdrew its prior ruling and held that the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) shields the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from liability for flood damage stemming from Hurricane Katrina. Plaintiffs argued that the Corps should be held liable for th...
A district court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the state of New York and several environmental groups challenging the federal government's decision not to conduct an environmental review under NEPA while the Delaware River Basin Commission drafts and considers regulations that would allow hydraulic f...
The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Forest Service complied with NEPA and the NFMA when it approved a fuels reduction project in the Lewis and Clark National Forest. The project involves understory thinning and burning to mitigate the risk of wildfire in the Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area...