The Florida Supreme Court held that commercial fishermen can recover for economic losses caused by the negligent release of pollutants even if they do not own any property damaged by that pollution. The case arose after waste from a fertilizer company entered a pond, resulting in a loss of underwate...

A California appellate court held that a siting agreement between a county and the state corrections department that identified potential locations for a state prison reentry facility is not subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The agreement was not ...

A California appellate court denied a petition challenging a county board's approval of a coastal permit to construct a single-family home within the county's 100-foot riparian corridor setback. The board did not abuse its discretion in approving the permits for the project, allowing the development...

Massachusetts' highest court affirmed a lower court decision upholding a state environmental commissioner' conclusion that a proposed wind farm project complied with the state's Wetlands Protection Act. The project will require certain streams to be bridged using open footed culverts. These culverts...

A Connecticut appellate court upheld a local wetlands commission decision denying a developer's application to construct 221 residential housing units, a golf course, a roadway network, associated structures, and infrastructure improvements on a 934-acre piece of property. The land contains 114.5 ac...

A California appellate court held that environmental groups were not entitled to attorneys fees in an underlying suit challenging the state forestry departments' approval of three timber harvest plans for logging in Tuolumne County. The groups argued that the department had not followed the law in a...

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision dismissing the state's attempt to hold prior and past owners liable for its costs of responding to and cleaning up a hazardous waste contamination site. The state failed to demonstrate that the trial court erred in dismissing its common law p...

The Sixth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower court decision rejecting claims that several city ordinances aimed at controlling deer populations violate the U.S. and Kentucky Constitutions and are preempted by state statutes and administrative regulations. The lower court erred in ...

A New Jersey appellate court held that liability under the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act is not imposed if a party's only link to the discharge is through the passive migration of pre-existing contamination. Accordingly, the court affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a property...

A district court upheld a "Clean Air Action Plan" adopted by a California port designed, among other things, to reduce emissions related to port operations, including emissions from heavily polluting trucks. A trucking association argued that the program was preempted by the Federal Aviation Adminis...