The court holds that although a subpoena duces tecum issued by a manufacturer against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to produce certain discovery documents in a lawsuit in which it was not a party is barred by sovereign immunity, the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) waives that imm...

The court affirms a district court order lifting a temporary restraining order and denying environmental groups' motion to permanently enjoin the construction of a new school on property that allegedly contains potential habitat for the endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy owl. The court first holds ...

The court holds that under the Clean Air Act (CAA), federal entities cannot remove to federal court state and local government actions to enforce air quality laws. A California air quality management district brought a suit against the United States in state court seeking civil penalties for a U.S. ...

The court holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') petition management guidance policy violated the plain terms of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and that the Secretary of the Interior improperly relied on the policy when she refused to issue 12-month findings in response to the grou...

The court holds that the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) §1272(e) prohibits subsidence and underground mining activities that might lead to subsidence in parks and protected areas. The Secretary of the Interior interpreted §1272(e), which prohibits surface coal mining operations...

The court holds that property owners and residents failed to satisfy Endangered Species Act (ESA) §11 notice requirements in their suit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) concerning an emergency housing project's alleged taking of endangered and threatened turtle species, but th...

The court holds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) arbitrarily and capriciously listed several subpopulations of bull trout as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 1994, FWS concluded that listing the bull trout as a species was warranted but precluded. Then, in response ...

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) use of the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) to measure compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) treatment standard for spent potliner is arbitrary and capricious. Spent potliner is a byp...

The court vacates two Court of International Trade orders that were issued after an environmental group withdrew its motion to enforce the Court of International Trade's ruling pertaining to the enforcement of turtle excluder device regulations under §609 of the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Justic...

The court holds that the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) applies to a mining claim contest proceeding concerning the validity of miners' mining and milling site claims in the Payette National Forest. The court first holds that the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §554, governs the mining c...