The court rules that where the Secretary of Agriculture takes actions within wilderness areas that are solely for the benefit of outside private interests, the Wilderness Act requires him to demonstrate that the action is necessary to effectively control threatened outside harm. The court first hold...
The court holds that New York City's training and certification program for asbestos workers is not preempted by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) or its regulations. The court first holds that OSHA can preempt municipal laws, although the OSHA section discussing preemption of local laws...
The court rules that civil penalties under §113(b) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) are available for violations occurring prior to the issuance of a notice of violation (NOV), and that the CAA places the burden of proving each day of a continuing violation on the government rather than requiring the all...
The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) arbitrarily and capriciously failed to consider the interrelationship of its high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal rules and the underground injection control provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in setting the individu...
The court holds that the state of New York is liable for failing to implement in a timely manner the ozone control strategies of New York's state implementation plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act (CAA), and enters an order establishing mandatory enforcement dates. The court first holds that the stat...
The court holds that sovereign immunity bars the United States from being joined as a part in a suit brought by New Jersey under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) against parties allegedly responsible for contamination at the Gloucester landfill. Join...
The court holds that route selection for an extension of Interstate 35 in Duluth, Minnesota, did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or §4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act. The court first holds that the combined environmental impact statement/§4(f) statement (EIS) d...
The court holds that the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) did not review properly under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) or the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) the environmental effects of a proposed parking ramp owned by the city of Duluth, Minnesota...
The court holds that construction of suicide barriers on a historic landmark bridge is not a transportation project requiring the use of historic land within the meaning of the Department of Transportation (DOT) Act, and the Federal Highway Administration's (FHwA's) determination that construction o...
The court rules that civil penalties under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) do not survive the death of the violator. The court first holds that it is not inequitable to order defendant landowner to restore illegally destroyed wetlands by filling in drainage ditches and removing culve...