The Ninth Circuit held that a court may not approve a consent decree that substantially and permanently amends regulations that the agency could only otherwise amend by complying with statutory rulemaking procedures. The consent decree at issue in the case arose from a settlement between environment...

A New York appellate court held that the state's Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law (OGSML) does not preempt, either expressly or impliedly, a municipality's power to enact a local zoning ordinance banning all activities related to the exploration for, and the production or storage of, natural gas and...

The Federal Circuit held that the United States may not use the "unavoidable delay" defense in breach of contract actions stemming from its failure to accept spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the nation's nuclear utilities. The Standard Contract provided that DOE was to begin accepting SNF no later than...