The court upholds five general permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizing the filling of wetlands for a broad range of development activities in Anchorage, Alaska. The court first holds that the Corps satisfied the requirement that the permitted activities are "similar in environ...

The court holds that the federal government's reallocation of a Native American tribe's excess water supply to a second tribe did not constitute a taking of irrigation districts' water rights. After the districts entered into subcontracts with the state and federal government for residual water righ...

The court holds that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction to review environmental groups' Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) citizen suit against a mining company allegedly discharging pollutants from its waste rock piles into a river via groundwater seepage without a national pollutant dis...

The court holds that the Outer Banks Protection Act's (OBPA's) temporary moratorium on oil exploration did not cause the United States to breach outer continental shelf (OCS) oil and gas leases with two oil companies. The court first holds that the phrase "all other applicable statutes and regulatio...

The court holds that the ability to use a river in a recreational manner should be considered in determining whether the river is navigable-in-fact in a trespass case against kayakers and canoers on the South Branch of the Moose River in New York. The kayakers and canoers, who allegedly trespassed o...

The court holds that a property owner cannot maintain an action for forcible ejectment against a company that was ordered to acquire the property owner's land as part of a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act remedial plan. The company, which obtained all of the land...

The court holds that a state environmental agency did not have a duty to ascertain the accuracy of the location of wetlands on developers' property. The court first holds that the duty to depict accurately the location of wetlands was properly the duty of the developers and their representatives. It...

The court holds that a local air pollution control agency cannot seek civil penalties from a U.S. Air Force base for past violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and state law. The court first holds that Congress, through the CAA, did not waive U.S. sovereign immunity from liability for civil penaltie...

The court holds that two cattle company owners do not have a vested private-property right to graze their cattle in the Apache and Gila National Forests without a U.S. Forest Service permit. The owners argued that because their predecessors-in-title obtained a valid, vested water right under New Mex...

The court holds that a district court abused its discretion by staying a village's action for a food processor's unpaid sewer user charges on the ground that there was a pending state court action addressing the same issue. The court first holds that under the abstention analysis required by Colorad...