Under the federal government's navigation servitude, compensation need not be paid to a lessee for minerals below the mean high watermark of Florida's Lake Okeechobee that have been used by the Corps of Engineers to construct a flood control levee. Plaintiff's mineral-drilling lease applies to all m...

The court approves a stipulation settling this NEPA action that was brought to challenge construction of an interstate highway connector through a wetlands area south of New Orleans. The parties have stipulated that the defendants, the state highway department and the Federal Highway Administration,...

On remand from the Supreme Court, 6 ELR 20068, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reverses its prior opinion, 5 ELR 20068, which held that preparation of the NEPA impact statement for a federally funded highway project must be done by the responsible federal official and may not be delegated to a s...

The court dismisses a challenge to defendants' seizure of plaintiff's major commercial product, a drug containing spermaceti, a product of the sperm whale, pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The sperm whale was classified as an endangered species in 1970. In 1974-1975, plaintiff obtaine...

On remand from the Fourth Circuit, 5 ELR 20432, the district court dismisses a suit seeking to enjoin construction of a proposed toll bridge across the Ohio River in Huntington, West Virginia. Although no federal funds are involved in the project, the bridge requires a Coast Guard permit because it ...

This action seeks to enjoin defendants from authorizing the Concorde SST to land in the United States until SST noise regulations are promulgated under the Federal Aviation Act, as amended by the Noise Control Act of 1972. The Secretary of Transportation's decision to admit the Concorde is an "order...

Agreeing with the Third and Seventh Circuits, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the EPA Administrator has authority under §301 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 to promulgate regulations establishing single-number effluent limitations for existing point sour...

In granting defendants' motion for summary judgment in a suit challenging a Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) order reducing tolls on interstate bridges owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority, the court holds that the Authority lacks standing to raise the claim that the FHwA ill...

On remand from the state Supreme Court, 455 Pa. 392, 319 A.2d 871, 4 ELR 20545, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth court determines that the only scheme that can effectively abate another acid mine water breakout from defendant's Mine No. 15 is continued pumping and treatment, and holds that such abateme...

The court grants partial summary judgment to plaintiff and enjoins expenditure of unexpended appropriated funds by the Corps of Engineers for the Catherine Creek Dam project on the ground that appropriations were made prior to the filing of a final environmental impact statement. Whether the dam, to...