The court holds that the federal government failed to show how limiting permits for eagle feathers only to members of federally recognized tribes is the least restrictive means of advancing the government's interests in preserving eagle populations and protecting Native American culture. An individu...

The court holds that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) failed to satisfy the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Management Act's (Atlantic Coastal Act's) consultation requirement before promulgating a final rule governing lobster fishing in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the U.S. Atlantic ...

The court holds that application of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to a commercial housing development that threatened the continued existence of the arroyo southwestern toad, an endangered species, was a constitutional exercise of federal authority under the U.S. Commerce Clause. The court previo...

The court holds that environmental groups' claim that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) by promulgating regulations allowing electric, telephone, and natural gas utilities in New York to accumulate hazardous waste at utility-own...

The court rejects a timber company's Declaratory Judgment Act claim against two private environmental groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The environmental groups filed a notice of intent to sue the FWS and the NMFS under the Endangered...

The court invalidates a 1999 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) order governing the disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) at the Hanford site in Washington, the INEEL facility in Idaho, and the Savannah River site in South Carolina. Part of the order defines a process by which HLW that meets c...

The court upholds the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') determination that listing the northern goshawk in the western United States as a threatened or endangered species was not warranted under the Endangered Species Act. The FWS' decision was amply supported by evidence in the record. Based ...

The court largely upholds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) determination that Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) does not apply to recycled materials used to make zinc fertilizers, or to the resulting fertilizers themselves, so long as they meet certain...

The court holds that the no surprises rule, which provides regulatory assurances to holders of incidental take permits (ITPs) issued under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that they will not be required to commit funds or resources beyond those contemplated at the time the permit was issued to mitig...

The Ninth Circuit holds that a district court erred in holding that residents living across from a county dump lacked standing to bring Clean Air Act (CAA) claims based on ozone degradation against a county health department and in granting the county summary judgment on the residents' Resource Cons...