The Ninth Circuit held that BLM and the U.S. Forest Service did not violate the CWA, NEPA, or the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in approving a proposed mine expansion project in the Caribou National Forest. After evaluating the data, the agencies determined that remediation efforts w...

The Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court's imposition of penalties against the former owner of a metals smelting facility for CWA violations. The environmental groups that filed suit against the company had standing, as they demonstrated that one of their members used an are...

The First Circuit affirmed a natural gas company's conviction for storing hazardous waste without a permit in violation of RCRA. The company is precluded from challenging a 2002 EPA rule authorizing Rhode Island's RCRA regulations because it failed to use the proper statutory procedure for j...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that the Federal Highway Administration's (FHwA's) EIS for a new ferry terminal and highway project through a national forest in Alaska violated NEPA. Improving ferry services using existing resources is a reasonable alternative for improving transpo...

The Sixth Circuit held that a lower court erred in acquitting defendants convicted for violating the Ports and Waterways Safety Act in connection with a benzene leak from a barge in the Mississippi River. The defendants were convicted for failing to immediately notify the U.S. Coast Guard of a hazar...

A district court granted the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's (MassDOT's) motion for judgment in a case involving its violation of municipal separate storm sewer system NPDES permits in the Boston area and denied an environmental group's motion for additional injunctive relief. Once a co...

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...