The Court holds that moratoria on development imposed during the process of devising a comprehensive land use plan do not constitute a per se taking of property requiring compensation under the Takings Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Unable to meet deadlines in a compact designed to protect and pre...

The court holds the U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC's) 1999 prohibition on drift gillnet swordfishing in the Atlantic Swordfish Fishery did not effect a taking of an individual's fishing permit, boat, or drift gillnets. The court first holds that the ban on draft gillnet fishing did not cause a t...

The court holds that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) failed to adequately consider the cumulative impacts on the natural quiet of Zion National Park in its environmental assessment (EA) for a nearby airport expansion project. The court first holds that the FAA's EA failed to address the to...

The court holds that an individual's claims of inverse condemnation and negligence arising from leachate and methane gas contamination of the individual's property from a neighboring county-owned landfill are barred by the state's three-year statute of limitations. The court first holds that the rec...

The court reverses and remands the state's final consistency determination under the Alaska Coastal Management Act (ACMA) approving the installation and operation of a new offshore exploratory drilling platform in the Cook Inlet. In finding the project consistent with the Alaska Coastal Management P...

The court reverses a district court decision holding that the designation of the Clearfield County Goss Run Watershed as unsuitable for mining under the Pennsylvania Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act was a taking. Various property owners who had mining interests in the watershed argued...

The court holds that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was arbitrary and capricious in determining that a waste disposal company's proposed landfill expansion near an airport would be a hazard to air navigation. Under the Federal Aviation Act, accompanying regulations, and the FAA handbook, ...

The court affirms a district court decision requiring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) and to issue a critical habitat designation for the Rio Grande Silvery Minnow within 120 days. In 1994, the minnow was listed as an endangered species. FW...

The court holds that an environmental group and a trade association lack standing to challenge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) hazardous wastewater treatment sludge rule promulgated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The court first holds that the environment...

The court holds that a district court erred in granting summary judgment to a nuclear facility operator sued by individuals for injuries allegedly arising out of their exposure to radioactive emissions from the facility. The district court's prior discovery order led the individuals reasonably to be...