The court dismisses for lack of subject matter jurisdiction a suit against a trucking company by an individual that alleged he suffered permanent physical injuries as a result of transporting hazardous waste for the company. The individual asserted federal question jurisdiction on the ground that hi...

The court reverses a district court decision and holds that environmental groups could intervene in a suit brought by a counties' association to have the presidential proclamation establishing the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah declared illegal. The court first holds that the en...

The court holds that a trailer park owner is liable under New York Navigation Law Article 12 (known as the Oil Spill Act) for the cost of cleaning up a kerosene spill from a 275-gallon tank owned and maintained by a tenant of the trailer park. After the tank fell on the ground in 1992, it spilled ke...

The court holds that the Secretary of Commerce abused his discretion and acted in contrivance of the law when he issued a finding that triggered a change in the dolphin-safe label standard for tuna sold in the United States. Through the International Dolphin Conservation Program Act (IDCPA), Congres...

The court holds that two officers of a corporation are personally liable under the Connecticut Water Pollution Control Act for water contamination caused by leaks from oil tanks on the corporation's property. The court first holds that under Connecticut Water Pollution Control Act §§22a-432, which...

The court holds that an environmental group's challenge to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' shoreline management plan is for the most part moot, but where there is a live controversy concerning the legality of boat docks constructed under the management plan, the Corps acted arbitrarily and capriciou...

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not act arbitrarily or capriciously in approving Montana's water quality standards exempting nonpoint sources of pollution from antidegradation review or in approving Montana's mixing zone policies and procedures. The court firs...

The court vacates a preliminary injunction enjoining a New York town from proceeding with its condemnation action against a landowner. The city sought to condemn the landowner's property as part of its redevelopment plan for the city's downtown and waterfront area. The owner argued, and a district c...

The court dismisses on ripeness grounds a conservation group's claim that the U.S. Forest Service violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing to carry out certain conservation programs in its management of the Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming. Specifically, the group argued that by a...

The court holds that a county zoning board's denial of an existing nonconforming use certificate to a strip miner that also wanted to operate a landfill on its property did not violate the strip mining company's due process or equal protection rights or constitute a taking without just compensation....