The court rules that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (DOT) has authority under the state vehicle code to implement an automobile inspection and maintenance (I/M) program, and refuses to enjoin expenditures of commonwealth funds for the program. The court notes that DOT is under a conte...

The court upholds a decision by the district court, 11 ELR 20235, that the Army Corps of Engineers properly denied a permit to dredge and fill wetlands on Marco Island, Florida. The court notes that the federal government is generally not subject to estoppel when it exercises its sovereign powers. T...

The D.C. Circuit affirms the district court ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) rejection of funding for two California sewage treatment projects applying "advanced waste treatment" on the basis of its conclusion that their costs were not justified by the improvement in public ...

The Ninth Circuit rules that §307(c)(1) of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) requires the Secretary of the Interior to determine whether outer continental shelf (OCS) Lease Sale No. 53 is consistent with the California coastal zone management plan and that environmental groups have standing un...

The Eighth Circuit affirms the district court decision, 12 ELR 20157, which upheld the environmental impact statement (EIS) for a 25.3-mile highway bypass between Bella Vista and Fayetteville Loop in Arkansas. The court finds that the lower court adequately considered alternatives to the project and...

The First Circuit affirms the district court's dismissal of claims that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is required under the Federal Aviation Act to promulgate airport noise regulations for Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. The court notes that although §611 of the Act authorizes t...

The court rules that the Buffalo National River is closed to mining because it is part of the National Park System. The court notes that it must apply the arbitrary and capricious standard of review of the Administrative Procedure Act. It rules that under the Buffalo National River Act (BNRA) Congre...

The Fifth Circuit affirms the district court ruling, 11 ELR 20932, that neither §404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) nor the Due Process Clause requires the Corps of Engineers to provide appellant a trial-type hearing before denying a dredge and fill permit. The court notes that ...

The Ninth Circuit affirms most of the district court's ruling, 10 ELR 20098, that the Forest Service's final environmental impact statement (EIS) for its Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE II) was inadequate to support the non-wilderness designations of 47 areas in California and therefore vi...

The court rules that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) approval of a revision to the New York state implementation plan (SIP) allowing five Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO) power plants to continue burning high-sulfur fuel does not prevent attainment or maintenance of national ambien...