The court holds that Nebraska, a host state for a regional disposal facility, does not have a unilateral right under the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact to veto low-level radioactive waste export permits issued by the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission. ...
The court upholds a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) decision denying an interest group's request to intervene in a nuclear power plant's license renewal proceeding. The court first holds that the NRC properly adopted an unavoidable and extreme circumstances test, instead of a good-cause test, to...
The court holds that the Court of Federal Claims improperly held that the Stafford Act, collateral estoppel, and a contract release barred a South Florida trailer park owner's breach of contract claim against the federal government, but the owner's taking and inverse condemnation claims were appropr...
The court denies petitions to review the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC's) relicensing of a hydroelectric project in Maine. The petitioners argue that FERC's rejection of minimum flow requirements in a branch of the Penobscot River that is blocked from receiving water due to a dam loca...
The court denies a construction company's petition to review an administrative law judge's (ALJ's) order upholding a nine-item citation against the company for violating Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards for lead exposure in construction work. The court first holds that ...
The court holds that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it failed to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) prior to the permitting of three casinos on the Mississippi coast. Mississippi law requires casinos to be located on floating vessels...
The court affirms a district court holding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for a flood control project on the Mississippi River satisfied the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The court first holds that the Corps' SEIS satisfied NEPA'...
The court grants Rhode Island's motion to preliminarily enjoin proceedings before the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in which several state employees sought damages and other relief against the state for allegedly violating the Solid Waste Disposal Act's whistleblower protection provision. The court...
Under the Clean Water Act (CWA), point source dischargers are required to obtain federal discharge permits and to comply with permit limits sufficient to make progress toward the achievement of water quality standards or goals. As water quality standards become increasingly stringent, industrial and municipal dischargers are being pressured to accept permit limits that are difficult, if not impossible, to meet.
Editors' Summary: Combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer overlows present unique problems for regulators. Although these problems were largely ignored until recently, EPA has finally begun to address the significant environmental and public health hazards these pollution sources pose. The author first provides a brief overview of the problems of combined and sanitary sewer overflows and the basis for their regulation under the FWPCA. He next discusses EPA's policy and guidance efforts to date, including the relevant documents' specific requirements and the concerns that shaped them.