A district court granted in part and denied in part motions to dismiss a property owner's CERCLA, RCRA, and state law claims against former owners and operators of nearby properties. One defendant argued that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the RCRA claim because the notice let...

The Ninth Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, reversed a lower court decision granting summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Forest Service in a case challenging its approval of four timber logging projects in the Tongass National Forest. The Forest Service failed to adequately explain it decisi...

The Tenth Circuit held that the U.S. Forest Service may charge visitors to Mt. Evans an "amenity fee" under the Recreation Enhancement Act (REA). Plaintiffs, outdoor enthusiasts, argued that the fee exceeds the Service's statutory authority under the REA. But to prevail in a facial challenge to an a...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a shopping center owner's citizen suit action under RCRA against manufacturers of dry cleaning equipment. The owner argued that the manufacturers contributed to the release of hazardous waste into the environment by virtue of their machinery, which was a...

The Ninth Circuit held that environmental groups may intervene in a citizen suit against the U.S. Forest Service concerning restricted motorized and mechanized vehicle use in a section of the Gallatin National Forest. In the underlying action, the citizens group argued that the Forest Service's plan...

A district court dismissed a county's RCRA action against the former owner of contaminated property, but held that the former owner was liable to the county under CERCLA. The county purchased the property, a former rifle lens manufacturing plant, from the former owners. The property was then...

A district court set aside a U.S. Forest Service rule exempting the Tongass National Forest—the nation's largest—from the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The court ruled that the exemption was arbitrary and capricious because the Forest Service failed to provide a rational basis for temporarily...

A district court held that an environmental group may go forward with its CWA claim against a gas and electric company for unpermitted stormwater discharges from its service yards, but dismissed the group's RCRA claim. The company filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that its service yards do ...

A district court, on motions for summary judgment, held that the California Department of Transportation is liable to the United States for damages caused to a lake and creek due to runoff from a state-run highway that cuts across federal property—the Presidio in San Francisco. A 1938 permit autho...