The court upholds the Corps of Engineers' decision not to prepare an environmental impact statement for an after-the-fact dredge and fill permit. The court rules that the administrative record supports the Corps' decision. The Corps, in considering the mitigation measures imposed on the applicant, r...

On remand from the Supreme Court, the D.C. Circuit rules that an amendment to §189(a) of the Atomic Energy Act authorizing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to issue license amendments involving no significant hazard without first holding a hearing has rendered moot a previous decision, 11 EL...

The court holds that Burlington County has authority to acquire transferable Pineland Development Credits (PDCs) in the New Jersey Pinelands incidental to the acquisition of conservation easements, but that the county acted improperly in delegating unfettered PDC acquisition powers to an Exchange Bo...

The court enjoins the Army Corps of Engineers from authorizing activities under a dredge and fill permit issued for the Hampton Roads oil refinery in Virginia, finding violations of §404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The court r...

In a challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) response to California's failure to meet Clean Air Act deadlines, the court holds that it lacks jurisdiction under §307 of the Clean Air Act to review EPA's imposition of a new source construction ban and withdrawal of federal funds, a...

The court upholds a Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) regulation exempting some mines from prime farmland reclamation requirements of §510(d), but invalidates a regulation setting a termination date for the exemption. First, the court considers the regulation limiting exemptions to...

The Ninth Circuit, reversing the district court, 13 ELR 20269, holds that the standing and ripeness doctrines bar appellee's challenge to the Department of the Interior's (DOI's) recommendation that California redesignate Death Valley National Monument from a Class II to a Class I air quality region...

The court upholds three of four actions by the Secretary of the Interior approving or disapproving portions of Pennsylvania's application for surface mining regulation primacy under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). The court first notes that SMCRA authorizes the Secretary to a...

The court rules that the Secretary of Transportation complied with §4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in selecting an alternative for a segment of the National Freeway through a state forest in Maryland. Under §4(f), the Secretary's choic...

The court upholds a determination by the Department of Housing and Urban Devolopment (HUD) that the financing of a 111-unit housing project is not a major federal action requiring preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The court ho...