The court holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's (FWS') decision that the westlope cutthroat trout (WCT) did not warrant listing as an endangered or threatened species was arbitrary and capricious. The FWS concluded that listing the WCT under the Endangered Species Act was unwarranted because viabl...

The court holds that the citizen suit provision of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), §520(f), provides a federal cause of action for the recovery of damages resulting from violation of state regulations that are a part of the state's surface coal mining and reclamation regulat...

The court holds that home builders lack standing to bring an Endangered Species Act (ESA) §11 citizen suit against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for issuing a technical correction to a final rule without using the required Administrative Procedure Act no...

The court denies several utilities' and states' broad request for a writ of mandamus that would require the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to begin disposing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act's (NWPA's) January 31, 1998, deadline. But the court precludes DOE from excusing ...

The court holds that an animal welfare group and three individuals lack standing to challenge a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulation that allows exhibitors of captive primates to develop independent primate psychological enhancement plans. The individuals claimed...

The Court holds that an environmental group lacks standing to maintain a suit for purely past violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). After receiving notice from the group of its failure to report EPCRA information in a timely fashion, the manufacturer filed all...

The court upholds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) decision to grant California a Clean Air Act (CAA) §209(b) waiver allowing the state to enforce its own on-board emissions diagnostic device (OBD) regulations, which contain OBD antitampering provisions. The court also upholds EPA...

The court upholds a U.S. Department of Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) determination that a company's failure to file a stipulation of entry rendered its mining claims null and void ab initio. When the Secretary of the Interior opened certain lands to mining claims in 1954, he required that a ...

The court holds that the Secretary of Commerce complied with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in setting commercial harvest quotas for Atlantic sharks in its fishery management plan (FMP) for 1997, but violated the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) in determining that the ...

The court affirms a district court's decision that an environmental group, alleging that the management of Lake Mead was jeopardizing the continued existence of the southwestern willow flycatcher, failed to provide the requisite notice to invoke subject matter jurisdiction under the Endangered Speci...