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The Riches of the Desert: Can the Bureau of Land Management Reject a Mining Operation Based on Historic and Cultural Concerns?

At first glance, the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) is a 25-million-acre expanse of sand dunes, brush lands, rock formations, and loneliness and desolation. However, a cursory look at the landscape belies the desert's significant historical, scenic, archeological, environmental, biological, cultural, scientific, educational, recreational, and economic resources" that the U.S. Congress recognized when it dedicated the area in 1976.

Delegation of EPA's CERCLA Enforcement Authorities to Qualified States Would Not Violate the U.S. Constitution

Editors' Summary: During congressional debate on CERCLA reauthorization, attention has focused on the role of states in executing the Act. Some observers of these debates have questioned the constitutionality of delegating EPA cleanup and enforcement authorities to states. In contrast, this Article argues that such delegation is permissible under the U.S. Constitution and constitutional jurisprudence. The author asserts that under the Appointments Clause, the delegation of CERCLA authorities to states would not usurp Executive Branch functions.

U.S. Supreme Court Review of <i>Rapanos v. United States</i> and <i>Carabell v. United States Army Corps of Engineers</i>: Implications for Wetlands and Interstate Commerce

Editor's Summary: The exact contours of wetlands jurisdiction has been in dispute ever since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Today, the Court has been given the chance to clarify this area of law as it faces two cases dealing with wetlands jurisdiction. In Rapanos v. United States, the Court must decide whether CWA jurisdiction extends to a series of wetlands that do not abut a navigable-in-fact water. And in Carabell v. U.S.

Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation & Drainage Dist. v. United States

The court holds that the federal government's reallocation of excess water to a Native American tribe did not constitute a taking of irrigation districts' water rights. A 1984 federal statute directed a permanent annual supply of water to a Native American tribe and apportioned the excess water to a...

S.W. Shattuck Chem. Co. v. Denver, City & County of

The court holds that a company satisfied the requirements for the issuance of a preliminary injunction against a city seeking to enforce two zoning ordinances that impose disposal fees for the storage of radioactive material. The court first holds that the abstention doctrine does not apply. To the ...

Missouri v. Glasgow, City of

The court holds that a city violated the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) by discharging sludge from its wastewater treatment facility without an operating permit. The court first holds that a state constitutional provision cannot excuse the city's operation of its water treatment facilit...

South Dakota Mining Ass'n v. Lawrence County

The court holds that the Federal Mining Act of 1872 preempts a local zoning ordinance that bans surface metal mining within the Spearfish Canyon area of South Dakota. The court first holds that miners' preemption claim against the county ordinance is ripe. The miners have shown a realistic danger of...

Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation & Drainage Dist. v. United States

The court holds that the federal government's reallocation of a Native American tribe's excess water supply to a second tribe did not constitute a taking of irrigation districts' water rights. After the districts entered into subcontracts with the state and federal government for residual water righ...

Kleissler v. U.S. Forest Serv.

The court holds that local school districts, municipalities, and timber companies may intervene as of right in litigation brought by plaintiff-environmentalists to restrict logging activities in the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. The court first notes that the parties do not dispute the ...

Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project v. Pence

The court upholds a U.S. Forest Service decision to allow a timber sale in the Malheur National Forest in Oregon. The Forest Service's decision allows the harvest of approximately 10.7-million-board feet of timber from approximately 3,560 acres, which includes 92 acres of conifers encroaching on asp...