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...

The court affirms a district court decision that it lacked initial subject matter jurisdiction over a native village corporation's action to quiet title against the United States in property conveyed to the corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The corporation sought to quiet ti...

The court reinstates a neighborhood association's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Federal Aid Highway Act (FAHA) claims against federal and state agencies for failing to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) addressing the construction of a bypass around Salisbury...

The court holds that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not preempt a California city's comprehensive municipal environmental response and liability ordinance. An insurer challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance. The court first dismisses...

The court holds that environmental groups lacked standing to pursue Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) claims against a smelting facility that allegedly violated its national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit. The groups alleged that the facility violated the FWPCA by ex...

The court holds that the Federal Highway Administration's (FHwA's) and a state transportation agency's decision not to complete a supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) for a highway project in New Jersey was reasonable. Several years after a final EIS for the highway was completed, it wa...

The court holds that a district court erred in failing to abstain under Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971), in a case challenging the constitutionality of an Oregon county's solid waste ordinance. A company charged with violating the ordinance sought declaratory and injunctive relief against enfo...

The court holds that the U.S. Department of the Navy's decision to transfer a large fleet of aircraft to a Virginia naval air station located near environmental group members' homes did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act. The court first holds that the Navy's consideration of the Virg...

The court holds that an individual failed to exhaust his administrative remedies before suing the U.S. Forest Service for violating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in connection with two timber cutting projects in the Allegheny National Fore...

The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service did not violate the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) when it adopted a forest plan for the Prescott National Forest in Arizona that identified certain forest land as suitable for grazing. The court first holds that the claims alleged by the environme...