The court holds the U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC's) 1999 prohibition on drift gillnet swordfishing in the Atlantic Swordfish Fishery did not effect a taking of an individual's fishing permit, boat, or drift gillnets. The court first holds that the ban on draft gillnet fishing did not cause a t...

The court holds that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) failed to adequately consider the cumulative impacts on the natural quiet of Zion National Park in its environmental assessment (EA) for a nearby airport expansion project. The court first holds that the FAA's EA failed to address the to...

The court holds that an individual's claims of inverse condemnation and negligence arising from leachate and methane gas contamination of the individual's property from a neighboring county-owned landfill are barred by the state's three-year statute of limitations. The court first holds that the rec...

The court reverses and remands the state's final consistency determination under the Alaska Coastal Management Act (ACMA) approving the installation and operation of a new offshore exploratory drilling platform in the Cook Inlet. In finding the project consistent with the Alaska Coastal Management P...

The court reverses a district court decision holding that the designation of the Clearfield County Goss Run Watershed as unsuitable for mining under the Pennsylvania Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act was a taking. Various property owners who had mining interests in the watershed argued...

The court holds that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was arbitrary and capricious in determining that a waste disposal company's proposed landfill expansion near an airport would be a hazard to air navigation. Under the Federal Aviation Act, accompanying regulations, and the FAA handbook, ...

The court holds that an environmental group and a trade association lack standing to challenge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) hazardous wastewater treatment sludge rule promulgated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The court first holds that the environment...

The court holds that a district court erred in granting summary judgment to a nuclear facility operator sued by individuals for injuries allegedly arising out of their exposure to radioactive emissions from the facility. The district court's prior discovery order led the individuals reasonably to be...

The court holds that a district court lacked jurisdiction under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the All Writs Act to hear landowners' land contamination claim against various corporations that owned and operated hazardous waste sites. After bein...

The court holds that an environmental group's challenge to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) determination that the National Parks Air Tour Management Act does not bar proposed sightseeing tours out of the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, airport is not ripe for review. In 1999, and again in 2000,...