The Fourth Circuit reversed a lower court decision rejecting the U.S. Coast Guard's interpretation of its own regulations concerning the installation of double hulls on oil tankers overseas. Under U.S. law, a vessel becomes ineligible to participate in the coastwise trade if significant work is perf...

The court denies a railway company's petition for review of a Surface Transportation Board order rejecting as unreasonable certain rates the railroad charged to a company to ship coal. The board issued its ruling three-and-one-half years after a complaint was filed. Because 49 U.S.C. §11701(c) prov...

The court held that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation did not breach its repayment contract with a municipal water district concerning a water reclamation project on the Ventura River in California when it required the district to build a $9.1 million fish passage facility and to relinquish a portion o...

The court held that the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) arbitrarily and capriciously transferred the functions performed by the Fish Passage Center—providing technical assistance and information to fish and wildlife agencies, Indian tribes, and the general public on matters related to salmon...

The court upheld a U.S. Department of Labor administrative review board decision dismissing a civilian chemist's complaint that his former employer—the U.S. Army—violated the employee protection provisions of several environmental statutes and retaliated against him by creating a hostile work en...

A district court held that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when it revised its nationwide grazing regulations. In issuing the regulations, which general...

The D.C. Circuit denied petitions to review two Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulations concerning the project design and capacity expansion of Alaska natural gas transportation projects. The petitioner wants to construct a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope of Alaska to the c...

The court holds that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' authorization of a flood control project in the St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway on the west bank of the Mississippi River violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and enjoined further construction work on the project. Environmenta...

A district court dismissed environmental groups' claim that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has never undertaken the study of coal mining wastes requested by Congress and, accordingly, has failed to determine whether such wastes should be regulated as "hazardous" under Subtitle C of t...

The court holds that the Federal Highway Administration and the West Virginia Department of Transportation's decision to support the building of a new, four-lane highway as part of the Appalachian Highway Development System complied with the National Environmental Policy Act and §4(f) of the Depart...