The court holds that a coal company is not entitled to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act's reclamation fee exemption for operations affecting two acres or less. The court holds that the area above underground mines has been included in the definition of "affected area" since the origina...

The court holds that a jury trial is available on the issue of liability for civil penalties under the Rivers and Harbors Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, in accordance with the Supreme Court's opinion in Tull v. United States, 17 ELR 20667. The Supreme Court had remanded the case to...

The court holds that the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control's (DHEC's) oversight and limited regulatory activities at a hazardous waste site do not make it an "owner or operator" under §107(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (C...

The court holds that the Federal Tort Claims Act's (FTCA's) discretionary function exception bars a suit alleging that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) negligently selected and supervised a hazardous waste transporter and that the agency failed to ensure that the transporter disposed of the...

The court holds the Long Island Landfill Closure Law (Closure Law) prohibits horizontal expansion but permits vertical expansion of a landfill, and that a consent order permitting ash disposal in the landfill is not an unlawful landfill expansion or an "action" under the State Environmental Quality ...

In an en banc decision, the court holds that state and local governments and environmental groups can challenge the adequacy of the Air Force's environmental impact statement (EIS) on the deployment of MX missiles, but the EIS need not consider alternate weapons systems or basing modes, or the missi...

The court rules that the provision in the Lacey Act making it illegal to possess or import fish or wildlife taken in violation of foreign law is not an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power to foreign governments. The Act simply excludes from the stream of foreign commerce wildlife unlawf...

The court rules that the jurisdictional requirement established in Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc., 18 ELR 20142, for Federal Water Pollution Act citizen suits applies to citizen suits under §304 of the Clean Air Act. The court holds that plaintiffs' complaint, which...

The court holds that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is required to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) on changes in flight patterns and practices at Boston's Logan Airport. FAA regulations at all relevant times required either an EA or an environmental impact statement (EIS) when co...

The court holds that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard for 1986 and its decision not to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the standard were not arbitrary or capricious. Plaintiff citizen groups, municipalit...