The Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court's dismissal of a tribe's NEPA challenge to a DOI guidance that did not consider its interest when allocating the water rights of the Colorado River. The tribe contended that it was unlawfully excluded from DOI 2001 and 2008 guidances that outlined how water is ...

A district court held that an insurance company cannot back out of an insurance policy because a policyholder entered into a voluntary environmental cleanup agreement. The policyholder agreed to sell its land and allowed the buyer to do an environmental assessment. When contamination was discovered,...

A California appellate court reversed a lower court's judgment that directed a state water resources agency to file a report of waste discharges in violation of the state water quality law. An environmental organization alleged that the agency failed to institute measures to mitigate the flow of con...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the criminal conviction of a Montana resident for violations of the CWA. The resident was sentenced to 18 months in prison and had to pay a $130,000 fine for digging ponds and diverting a creek onto his land in Montana and the neighboring Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest...

A district court held that the federal government must answer claims that it is liable for the cleanup of World War II-era hazardous waste from 12 oil refineries in seven states. Property owners brought a contribution claim against the U.S. government under CERCLA, claiming that the government exerc...

A district court held that a water pollution case against carpet manufacturers belonged in state court as complete diversity did not exist, rejecting the carpet manufacturers' claim of fraudulent joinder. A sewer board (Board) brought suit against various manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and ...

A district court held that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) being regulated under TSCA does not bar a Wisconsin couple from bringing a citizen suit under RCRA against a neighboring property owner for releasing PCBs during the demolition of a building on its property. The couple alleged that the demo...

A New Jersey appellate court held that the state environmental agency properly ordered a theme park to decommission a well used for drinking water after it twice tested positive for E. coli. The well in question tested positive in October 2010, and again in September 2011. The theme park requested t...

A district court held that gas companies will have to face monetary compensation claims under the the New Jersey Spill Act for releases at five sites. The case concerns releases of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) at five gas stations in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Department of Enviro...

A district court held that St. Louis home owners' nuisance claims against a pharmaceutical company alleging migration of radioactive materials to their property were preempted by the Price-Anderson Act (PAA). The home owners claimed that their property had been damaged by soil, dust, and air contami...