The court holds that the Eleventh Amendment bars all but two claims brought by citizen groups in federal court against a state official accused of failing to implement, administer, enforce, and maintain a federally approved state coal mining program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation A...

The court holds that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources, 532 U.S. 598 (2001), did not prohibit the use of the catalyst test as a basis for awarding attorney fees and costs under the Endangered Specie...

The court holds that the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection violated the Clean Air Act (CAA) by failing to implement state implementation plan (SIP)-required emission standards for the state's enhanc...

The court grants an environmental group's motion for partial summary judgment against Pennsylvania officials for failing to implement the state-enhanced vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/M) program in 16 counties by November 15, 1999, as required by the Pennsylvania state implementation plan (SI...

The court holds that the Secretary of Commerce's adoption of a fishery conservation amendment to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan does not violate the Magnuson Act or the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The amendment sets annual allowable catch targets for regulated species, orch...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service policy of leaving game "baiting" regulation in the National Forest System to the states complies with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The court first holds that the adoption of the new policy is not a maj...

The court holds that under Ohio law, the doctrine of res judicata bars property owners' Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) suit against the property's seller for leaving gasoline buried in the soil. The owners filed their RCRA suit in federal court after they litigated contract and fraud ...

The court upholds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) redesignation of five parcels of tribal land as a nonfederal Class I area under the Clean Air Act (CAA) prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) program. The court first holds that Arizona's chamber of commerce lacks standing ...

The court holds that trade associations' action for judicial review of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule permitting the use of "any credible evidence" to prove or disprove Clean Air Act (CAA) violations is not ripe for review. The heart of the associations' argument is that the credi...

The court upholds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decisions to deny permits that would have allowed landowners to build camp structures on their property in the Atchafalaya floodway in Louisiana. The landowners purchased their property subject to a perpetual flowage, channel, and disposal easement...