A Michigan appellate court voided a 10-year-old commercial lease between the landlord and tenant of a gas station because the landlord failed to disclose that the property is, under Michigan law, a "facility" from which hazardous substances were released or disposed. The court reasoned that because ...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court order denying an environmental group's motion to preliminarily enjoin the U.S. Forest Service from conducting post-wildfire logging in the Plumas National Forest. The group argued that the Forest Service violated the NFMA because it failed to ensure the viabi...

A California appellate court held that a county's approval of a development project violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The project included a mix of residential, commercial, and light industrial uses plus areas for open space and recreation as well as other public uses. T...

The Federal Claims court denied the United States' motion to dismiss a company's action to recover over $2 million in litigation expenses allegedly owed to it under the indemnification provisions of various contracts the company performed for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The underlying la...

The Fourth Circuit held that the Tax Injunction Act does not bar the owner of a power plant from challenging an excise tax on carbon dioxide emissions. A lower court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction under the Tax Injunction Act because the carbon charge was a tax. But of all the carbon dioxide...

The Seventh Circuit held that an environmental group has standing to challenge a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit allowing 18.4 acres of wetlands in a state park to be destroyed to make way for a landfill. A lower court held that the group lacked standing and therefore dismissed the case. It...

The U.S. Supreme Court held that the CAA displaces any federal common law right to seek abatement of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil-fuel fired power plants. A group of states, private land trusts, and a city a filed suit against four power companies and the TVA claiming that their e...

A California appellate court held that the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) may add chemicals to California's Proposition 65 list using the methodology set forth in Cal. Health & Safety Code §25249.8(a). Proposition 65 requires the government to publish a list of ch...

A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service's Public Wheeled Motorized Travel Management Decision for the Eldorado National Forest violated the ESA and the National Forest Management Act. The decision designates specific roads and trails within the forest as open to public motor vehicle ...

The Seventh Circuit denied environmental groups' petitions challenging EPA's approval of revisions to Wisconsin's new source review program. In 2002, EPA changed the rules that determine when polluters need permits in order to modify existing facilities—and, if they need permits, what restrictions...