A district court dismissed a fraud claim brought by a car wash operator against the seller of the property—an oil company—for requiring the operator to sign a document stating that he intended to use USTs on the property even though he had no such intent. The USTs were later found to be leaking ...

A district court held that a lumber company's CERCLA action against the former owner of the company's sawmill and plywood manufacturing plant for reimbursement of past and future cleanup costs associated with the site is not barred by contract. When the lumber company purchased the plant in 1993, th...

The Eleventh Circuit vacated a lower court decision remanding a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers back to the agency and enjoining a mining company from conducting operations approved in that permit. The lower court concluded the permit's issuance did not comply with the requirements...

The First Circuit held that the U.S. Coast Guard violated NEPA when it issued regulations that preempt state environmental law with respect to tank vessels in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. In promulgating the rule, the Coast Guard used a standard environmental checklist that included prompts correspo...

The Federal Circuit upheld the dismissal of a Native American tribe's Tucker Act claim against the United States for an alleged breach of fiduciary duty relating to water rights in the Gila River. A consent decree establishing water rights among the tribe and landowners along the river was ente...

The D.C. Circuit denied a Native American tribe's petition challenging FERC's decision declining to impose conditions on a utility's annual licenses for a hydroelectric plant in order to preserve the Klamath River's trout fishery. Contrary to the tribe’s argument, FERC quite plainly articulated an...

The U.S. Supreme Court held that a Native American tribe's suit against federal officials in district court seeking equitable relief for their alleged breach of fiduciary duty precludes jurisdiction over the tribe's suit against the United States for monetary damages in the Court of Federal Cla...

Massachusetts' highest court vacated a nuclear power company's action seeking a judgment declaring that state regulations governing cooling water intake structures (CWIS) exceeded the state environmental agency's authority under the commonwealth's Clean Waters Act. A lower court ruled that the ...

A district court, on motions for summary judgment, held that a property owner may go forward with its CERCLA claims against a printing company for environmental contamination stemming from the company's operations, but it dismissed the owner's RCRA claims against the company. The printing compa...

A district court held that FWS complied with NEPA when it approved the opening and expansion of sport hunting in 60 National Wildlife Refuges. Between 1997 and 2005, the FWS issued nine final rules creating or expanding recreational hunting opportunities on 60 wildlife refuges. In 2006, a court...