The court holds that the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA) preempts state and local environmental review of a rail carrier's reacquisition and reopening of the Stampede Pass railroad line in Washington State. The court first holds that the plain language of two sections of the I...

The court holds that the National Park Service's decision to remove a herd of 12 horses from Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The court first holds that the plaintiff foundation provided no support for its assertion that the horse...

The court holds that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar the removal from state to federal court of a power plant's federal and state claims against a state environmental agency. The power plant filed claims in state court against state and county environmental agencies after they claimed that the p...

The court holds that, under Ohio law, excess insurance policies that "follow form" to—or provide coverage on the same terms as—underlying unbrella insurance policies incorporate a pollution exclusion endorsement included in the underlying policies. The pollution exclusion endorsement was added t...

The court holds that a Maine town's solid waste flow-control ordinance, coupled with its grant of an exclusive hauling and disposal contract to a local contractor, does not violate the dormant U.S. Commerce Clause. The court first holds that the town's ordinance does not discriminate on its face aga...

The court affirms a district court's grant of summary judgment to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on a toxicologist's claim that EPA violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) by hiring a contractor to convene and conduct an external peer review of benzene's carcinogenic effec...

The court reverses and remands a district court's allocation of insurance coverage costs between an insured and its excess insurers for soil, groundwater, and wetlands contamination at the insured's tank truck terminal. The court first holds that the district court had subject matter jurisdiction ov...

The court holds that a district court abused its discretion in denying a landowner's motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the taking of its property by a local port authority. The district court denied the landowner's motion for a preliminary injunction because it failed to show a threat o...

The court holds that a North Carolina town and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) did not violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act or the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in connection with the siting of a wastewater treatment facility in an African-American neighborhood. The court fi...

The court holds that congressional representatives lack standing to sue to enjoin implementation of the President's American Heritage Rivers Initiative, which was established by executive order. The representatives claim that by issuing the Executive Order, the president denied them their proper rol...