A California appellate court held that a city did not violate the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when it approved an affordable housing project. In approving the project, the city concluded that the project satisfied the categorical exemption for in-fill development projects. Altho...

A California appellate court upheld the dismissal of a petition challenging a city's environmental impact report (EIR) for and approval of a park project. An environmental group argued that the EIR failed to adequately analyze construction-related water quality impacts, the impact of using trea...

A district court granted the United States' motion to dismiss a Native American tribe's claims against it in connection with the government's remediation of a former uranium mill located on the Navajo Nation Reservation near Tuba City, Arizona. In 1985, the DOE and the tribe entered into a coop...

A district court granted in part a bottling company's motion to dismiss individuals' tort and state law claims against it for groundwater contamination. The individuals alleged that the company violated the terms of their wastewater discharge permit by spraying excess wastewater over a sustaine...

A district court denied environmental groups' motion to preliminarily enjoin the BLM from authorizing the site clearing and construction of a wind energy facility in Spring Valley, Nevada. The groups are not likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that an EIS was required. The BLM's deci...

A district court modified its equitable allocation of costs under §113 of CERCLA and the New Jersey Spill Act in connection with a site contaminated with TCE and other hazardous substances. The court originally allocated 65% of costs to the plaintiffs, 32% to the defendants, and 3% to the federal g...

The D.C. Circuit denied a petition for review challenging EPA's decision granting California a waiver from federal preemption under the CAA that allows the state to implement its own regulations requiring automobile manufacturers to reduce fleet-average greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicl...

A district court denied two aviation associations' motions to intervene in a case asking the court to order EPA to use its authority under the CAA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from marine vessels, aircraft, and other nonroad vehicles. The aviation associations filed the instant motions to in...

A district court held that the United States' action to collect an EPA civil monetary penalty imposed against an oil refining company under RCRA and the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act (FDCPA) is not time barred. The parties agreed that the five-year limitations period under 28 U.S.C. §...

A Michigan appellate court upheld the state environmental agency's concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) rule. The challenged rule falls within the scope of the agency's statutory rulemaking authority, is rationally related to the agency's statutory mandate to protect Michigan's waters from p...