The court rules that constitutional and equitable defenses are not available in an action to recover response costs under §107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and 16 corporate defendants may raise only those affirmative defenses alleging divisi...

The court holds that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) impliedly preempts state common-law tort claims against a pesticide manufacturer for inadequate labeling. A humane society worker brought a suit against a presticide manufacturer seeking damages for injuries sustain...

The court holds that hazardous waste cleanup costs are not "damages" under comprehensive general liability insurance policies. The district court properly determined that the Eighth Circuit's en banc decision in Continental Insurance Co. v. Northeastern Pharmaceutical & Chemical Co. (NEPACCO), 1...

The court orders the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to prepare and publish its proposed critical habitat plan for the northern spotted owl because the owl is listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The court rules that FWS must designate critical habitat when it lists...

The court holds that an indictment against two electroplating companies and their president charging that defendants wilfully and negligently discharged wastewater in violation of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act's (FWPCA's) pretreatment standards adequately alleged the necessary elements of ...

The court holds that the prevailing parties in an action challenging a sale of beetle-killed spruce in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (HCNRA) in Oregon are not entitled to attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). The plaintiffs had contended that the Secretary of Agricu...

The court generally grants the government's motions for summary judgment on an oil company's alleged violations of the benzene regulations under the Clean Air Act. After the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressly delegated enforcement authority under the Clean Air Act to a Pennsylvania stat...

The court holds that the Postal Service's environmental assessment (EA) for construction of a regional mail distribution center violates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Postal Service's own handbook regulations. The city seeks to enjoin the Postal Service from building its facil...

The court holds that the Postal Service's revised environmental assessment (EA) for the construction of a mail processing facility is neither arbitrary nor capricious and complies with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Executive Order No. 11988 regarding floodplain management, and the Po...

The court holds that two Massachusetts towns are not entitled to intervene in a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) enforcement action concerning the massive discharges of sewage into Boston Harbor by the state agency responsible for wastewater treatment. The court issued a remedial order re...