The court rules that the Secretary of the Interior's failure to act on outstanding oil and gas lease applications in wilderness study areas in national forests constitutes a withdrawal of these lands from the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (MLA) under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA)....

The district court rules that although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) erroneously paid to plaintiff state agency sewage treatment works construction funds actually owed to defendant municipality, the Eleventh Amendment requires that defendant's counterclaim for damages be denied. The Penn...

The Sixth Circuit Vacates an injunction issued by the district court prohibiting the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing the Emission Control System Performance Warranty Regulations, ruling that only the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals has jurisdiction t...

The court approves a consent judgment enjoining Hooker Chemicals & Plastics Corp. from further disposal of toxic substances at its manufacturing facility in Montague, Michigan and requiring Hooker to pay civil penalties and monetary damages to the state of Michigan for injuries caused by the con...

Reversing the judgment of the lower court, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals holds that plaintiffs have standing to challenge the demolition of historic buildings for a federally assisted development project. Plaintiffs, five neighborhood organizations, sought to enjoin federal funding of the proje...

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals declines to rule upon the legality of compliance orders issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) directing that petitioners prevent future releases of vinyl chloride from their industrial facilities, concluding that the issues are not ripe for review. Th...

The First Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing a district court judgment, holds that the Maine Traveler Information Services Act, which abolishes billboards completely and decreases significantly the number, size, and content of all other signs viewable from public highways, unconstitutionally abridg...

The court rules that the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) acted within the scope of its authority under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in selecting an alternative to a highway segment in the final environmental impact statement (EIS). Pursuant to a district court o...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals holds that a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limiting the scope of a public hearing regarding a registration cancellation under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act must be reviewed first in the district court. EPA proposed ...

The district court denies plaintiff's request for a permanent injunction and rules that approval of a 1976 coal mining lease agreement between two coal and gas companies and the Navajo Tribe, as well as a subsequent 1978 Mining Plan, violate neither the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Nati...