The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) listing of the Del Amo site in Los Angeles, California, on the national priorities list (NPL) was invalid. The court first holds that the proposal for listing the site on the NPL failed to comply with the Omnibus Consolidated Re...

The court holds that it has subject matter jurisdiction over property owners' Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) claim against private companies for response costs relating to the contamination of their water supply, but the court does not have jurisdictio...

The court affirms a district court grant of summary judgment in favor of a manufacturer alleged to have contributed to a Michigan river's polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) contamination. An association of potentially responsible parties claimed that PCBs in the manufacturer's drainage ditch leaked int...

The court holds that individual condominium owners may not assert the innocent landowner defense in their Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) action against the property's former owners. The individual owners initially purchased the property as a partnershi...

The court holds that a company's cleanup of a polychlorinated biphenyl- and lead-contaminated site in Colorado was not consistent with the national contingency plan (NCP). Thus, the company is not entitled to contribution from other responsible parties. The court first holds that the district court ...

The Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court order enjoining the future planting of disputed genetically engineered alfalfa seed pending the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's completion of an enivironmental impact statement. The district court applied the traditional balancing test, and no...

A district court set aside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') decision not to designate critical habitat or to prepare a recovery plan for the jaguar. The FWS' critical habitat designation determination was not based on the best scientific evidence available and was inconsistent with the st...

A court dismisses an individual's claim for $2.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages against a potentially responsible party (PRP) of the Omaha, Nebraska, Superfund site. The individual lived on the site from the date of his birth until his 18th birthday. He claims that he was exposed to le...

The court upholds a lower court decision that the United States has no obligation to reimburse a Florida county for the costs it incurred treating soil and groundwater contamination at the Miami International Air Depot. From 1943 to 1966, the U.S. government maintained and repaired U.S. Air Force ai...

The court holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') decision not to designate critical habitat for the stickleback is not arbitrary and capricious, and that the FWS is not required to ensure compliance with federal and state laws before issuing an incidental take statement to a company ...