The court denies a motion for reconsideration of its decision, 13 ELR 20284, and orders the Secretary of the Interior to assess and collect mandatory civil penalties under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). The court first rules that although the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) h...

The court, having found that defendants filled wetlands without a permit in violation of §404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), now orders defendants to restore 23 acres of wetlands filled to build condominiums and pay a civil penalty of $100,000. The court concludes that the nort...

The Supreme Court, reversing the D.C. Circuit's decision, 12 ELR 20465, rules that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) complied with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and was not arbitrary and capricious in adopting generic rules—the "S-3 Table"—dictating how nuclear reactor licen...

The court rules that plaintiff has stated a cause of action in public nuisance against defendant chemical company for water pollution resulting from the disposal of chemical wastes at the Loeffel dump site 15 to 30 years ago. Plaintiff may seek abatement and punitive damages. The court denies plaint...

The court rules that the Environmental Protection Agency's inclusion of a site on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) National Priorities List (NPL) is a regulation subject to review only in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The court first hol...

The Ninth Circuit upholds the district court's judgment assessing a civil penalty against a fishing vessel for the taking of a marine mammal in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The district court did not err in applying the preponderance of the evidence standard rather than criminal st...

The court affirms a damage award against two polluters for contamination of a city water supply in violation of the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control and Water Pollution Control Acts but reverses on the allocation of liability, ruling that the polluters be held jointly and severally liable. ...

The court invalidates the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) "cite-all" pesticide registration regulations as inconsistent with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The court rules that on its face §3(c) of FIFRA requires applicants for EPA registration of pestici...

The court holds that parts of §§3 and 10 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) governing the use and disclosure of pesticide registration data violate the Fifth Amendment's prohibition against uncompensated takings. The court first rules that Monsanto has a federally c...

Reversing the district court, 13 ELR 20540, the Tenth Circuit rules that defendants, the federal government and two contractors, may be held liable under state tort law for radioactive contamination of land near the Rocky Flats nuclear facility. The court first rules that federal laws dealing with t...