The court holds that three insurance companies have a duty to defend the former owners of a contaminated site against the current owner's suit for response costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and against stated pendent state-law claims. The ...

The court holds that the Illinois Coal Act, which requires utilities and the Illinois Commerce Commission to take into account the need to use high-sulfur coal mined in Illinois when developing and approving Clean Air Act (CAA) compliance plans, violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution....

The court denies environmental groups' and local residents' request for a preliminary injunction that would postpone the civilian reuse of Lowry Air Force Base near Denver, Colorado, until the performance of additional studies and analysis of environmental conditions at the base. The court first not...

The court holds that a Washington state-law requirement that waste disposal companies obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity before collecting, transporting, or disposing of solid waste in the state does not violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court first hold...

The court holds that a state environmental department did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by considering a vinyl flooring manufacturer's ability to pay for cleaning up environmental contamination at its Mannington Township, New Jersey, facility in designating the sit...

The court affirms a district court's exercise of jurisdiction over three actions arising from disputes over insurance coverage for the costs of cleaning up polychlorinated biphenyl contamination caused by the insured's operation of a natural gas pipeline. The insured's primary excess liability insur...

The court holds that three environmental groups and an individual have standing to challenge the U.S. Treasury Department's failure to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for a final rule providing a tax credit for ethyl tertiary butyl e...

The court holds that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction in an action brought by surface and royalty interest owners against past and current operators of an oil field for alleged injuries to the owners' property interests. The court first holds that removal jurisdiction under 28 U....

The court holds that the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not bar a citizen group that was denied attorney fees by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality from asserting a Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) claim against the state agency in federal court. The ...

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was not constitutionally barred from considering a facility's boiler and industrial furnace (BIF) permit application while a federal government suit over the facility's alleged incineration of hazardous waste without a permit was pe...