The court holds that the U.S. Forest Service did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by classifying certain units of a proposed timber sale as roaded. Because the Forest Service considers the challenged units as roaded, the studies and research that formed the basis for the envi...

The court upholds the U.S. Forest Service's decision to grant a cellular phone company a special use permit for a telecommunications facility on Dead Indian Mountain in the Fremont National Forest, Oregon. The court first holds that the Forest Service's decision to grant the permit was not arbitrary...

The court holds that, as applied to industrial truck manufacturers and distributors, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) hazard communication standard (HCS) preempt enforcement of the occupational warning requirements unde...

The Court affirms a Third Circuit decision that a class-action certification seeking settlement of current and future asbestos-related claims failed to satisfy the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23. The Court first notes that the Third Circuit should have acknowledged that settlement is relevant to...

The court holds that a state's solid waste disposal program that requires the identification of additional capacity for out-of-state waste before a plan is approved does not violate the U.S. Commerce Clause. The court first holds that the program does not facially discriminate against interstate com...

The Court holds that a landfill constructed on land ceded from the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota by an 1894 Act that diminished the boundaries of the reservation is not subject to federal environmental regulation. The Court first holds that the 1894 Act—a negotiated agreement providing...

The court holds that a ranch owner with inholdings within the Apache National Forest and the Gila River Forest Reserve in New Mexico does not have a preexisting patent right or a common-law easement allowing access to the inholdings. The court first holds that the government's claims regarding the r...

The court holds that future Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) contribution actions by settling private defendants against private nonsettlors at a New York Superfund site will be governed by the Uniform Comparative Fault Act (UCFA) and CERCLA §113(f)(1),...

The court holds that environmental activists challenging the construction of a golf course in Lake Jackson, Texas, may not bring a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) citizen suit action against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or bring Administrative Procedure Act (APA), National Environmen...

The Court holds that an environmental group's challenge to a U.S. Forest Service land and resource management plan (LRMP) for Wayne National Forest in Ohio is not yet ripe for review. The environmental group brought suit alleging that the Forest Service's approval of the Wayne National Forest LRMP v...