The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part lower court rulings in an action initially brought by over 2,000 residents against the operators of the Hanford Nuclear Weapons Reservation in southeastern Washington claiming that emissions from the facility caused various cancers and other li...

A California appellate court upheld water quality orders issued by a regional water board requiring a county to establish limitations for coliform effluent in groundwater underlying a county-operated, youth correctional facility wastewater treatment plant. The county argued that the board misapplied...

A district court held that a county ordinance that bans the land application of "Los Angeles sludge" in the unincorporated areas of the county violates the Commerce Clause. The city of Los Angeles generates a large amount of sewage treatment residues, some substantial portion of which it would shi...

A district court dismissed international shipping entities' lawsuit seeking to invalidate Michigan's Ballast Water Statute, which is aimed to prevent the introduction of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes. The statute requires all oceangoing vessels to obtain permits from the state if the...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the U.S. Forest Service's ban on rock climbing on Cave Rock, a large rock formation on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe, Nevada. While the formation holds religious and cultural significance to a Native American tribe, the ban had a secular purpose and had no impermissible re...

The Third Circuit remanded a lower court decision that all of New Jersey's health, safety, and environmental regulations concerning the transfer of solid waste from truck to rail car were preempted by the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act. In so ruling, the court found that all of the s...

The Ninth Circuit granted the U.S. Navy's emergency motion to stay a preliminary injunction prohibiting its use of sonar during training activities. Environmental groups argued that the Navy's use of sonar was harmful to the environment, particularly whales. The lower court issued an injunction, but...

The Eleventh Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court decision allowing a chicken plant owner's equal protection claims against various state and local officials to go forward. The owner filed a §1983 suit against the officials on the theory that they violated the owner's constitutional righ...

A district court held that an insurance company has a duty to defend, but not indemnify, a plumber and his employer in an underlying action concerning damages suffered by an individual who inhaled noxious fumes after the plumber poured chemicals down a clogged drain. Under Hawaiian case law, an insu...

The Montana Supreme Court held that where adequate alternative remedies exist under the common law or statute, the right to a clean and healthful environment under the Montana Constitution does not authorize a distinct cause of action in tort for money damages between two private parties. Downstream...