The court holds that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) does not require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to consider the master plan for an airport's expansion in an environmental assessment (EA) of the upgrade of one runway. The court first holds that the issue is not moot, even...

The court holds that legislation applying the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act exemption from Endangered Species Act (ESA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements to the construction of an observatory on a site in endangered red squirrel habitat does not violate the separation of pow...

The court holds that New Jersey's self-sufficiency policy, whose goal is to eliminate the use of out-of-state disposal facilities by the year 2000, violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The state implemented the policy by either rejecting long-term out-of-state disposal contracts, i...

The court directs a district court to enjoin South Dakota state officials from relitigating in state court issues that the federal circuit court has already decided concerning the permitting of a solid waste disposal facility. In SDDS, Inc. v. South Dakota, 25 ELR 20967 (1995), the circuit court eff...

The court holds that South Carolina laws that limit the amount of out-of-state waste that may be disposed of in South Carolina violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. One statute requires South Carolina hazardous-waste facilities to reserve space for in-state waste and caps the amount ...

The court affirms a district court determination that §2001(k)(1) of the 1995 Rescissions Act is constitutional and does not violate separation of powers by permitting Congress to resurrect timber sales that federal courts have enjoined. The district court also correctly held that "offered" sales, ...

The court holds that the owners of a contaminated site may not recover damages for negligence, gross negligence, or strict liability from an oil company that previously owned the site and used it to dispose of oil-field waste. The court first holds that Texas' two-year statute of limitations for pro...

The court holds that native Alaskans may not bring a public nuisance action to recover damages for noneconomic "cultural" injuries they incurred as a result of the 1989 grounding of the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound. Plaintiff-appellant class of native Alaskans failed to prove any special inj...

The court affirms a district court decision that under Pennsylvania law a manufacturer is entitled to indemnification from its excess liability insurers for property damage resulting from environmental contamination at its manufacturing and disposal sites. The court first holds that the district cou...

The court holds that Washington oil spill prevention laws are not preempted by federal statute, do not violate the Commerce Clause or Foreign Affairs Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and are not improper extraterritorial restrictions. The court first holds that the language, structure, and legislati...