The court holds that the citizen suit provision of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), §520(f), provides a federal cause of action for the recovery of damages resulting from violation of state regulations that are a part of the state's surface coal mining and reclamation regulat...

A district court holds that the Clean Air Act (CAA) does not preempt New York's zero emission vehicle (ZEV) sales mandate and dismisses an action brought by automobile manufacturers seeking to enjoin the state from enforcing legislation that requires the sale of ZEVs beginning in the 1998 model year...

The court holds that the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP's) zero emission vehicle (ZEV) regulations for automobile manufacturers are not identical to California standards as required by Clean Air Act (CAA) §177 and, thus, are preempted by CAA §209(a). In 1992, Massachus...

The court holds that home builders lack standing to bring an Endangered Species Act (ESA) §11 citizen suit against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for issuing a technical correction to a final rule without using the required Administrative Procedure Act no...

The court denies several utilities' and states' broad request for a writ of mandamus that would require the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to begin disposing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act's (NWPA's) January 31, 1998, deadline. But the court precludes DOE from excusing ...

The court holds that an animal welfare group and three individuals lack standing to challenge a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulation that allows exhibitors of captive primates to develop independent primate psychological enhancement plans. The individuals claimed...

The Court holds that an environmental group lacks standing to maintain a suit for purely past violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). After receiving notice from the group of its failure to report EPCRA information in a timely fashion, the manufacturer filed all...

The court holds that the military and state secrets privilege and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) §6001 presidential exemption bar two RCRA citizen suits against the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The two suits alleged RCRA violations and sought...

The court holds that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) fulfilled its statutory obligations under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) to ensure that Nevada had sufficient funds enabling it to perform essential nuclear waste dump oversight activities at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The court first holds ...

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to explain adequately why the physical effects felt by some asthmatics from exposure to short-term, high-level sulfur dioxide (SO2) bursts are not a public health problem under the Clean Air Act. The case arose after EPA decl...