The court holds that the passage of the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), which requires single-hulled oil tankers to be retrofitted with double hulls or be phased out of service, did not effect a taking of shipping companies' oil tankers. The court first holds that when the companies built or acquired the v...
The court holds that a company's cleanup of a polychlorinated biphenyl- and lead-contaminated site in Colorado was not consistent with the national contingency plan (NCP). Thus, the company is not entitled to contribution from other responsible parties. The court first holds that the district court ...
The court vacates a district court's dismissal of a community association's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA) claims against the federal government in connection with a highway project in Tennessee. The court first holds that th...
The court reverses a district court's acquittal of a tow boat company, a company officer, and the boat's captains for violating the Federal Water Pollution Control Act by dumping pollutants into a river without a permit. The district court acquitted the defendants after a jury found them guilty. The...
The court reinstates a neighborhood association's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Federal Aid Highway Act (FAHA) claims against federal and state agencies for failing to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) addressing the construction of a bypass around Salisbury...
The court reverses a district court's dismissal of a peat company's Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §404 and takings claims against the federal government concerning a proposed §404 permit. The court first holds that the district court erred in finding that it did not have subject matt...
The court holds that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not preempt a California city's comprehensive municipal environmental response and liability ordinance. An insurer challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance. The court first dismisses...
The court grants summary judgment to a company that allegedly violated its Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §404 permit by filling wetlands in contradiction of its mitigation plan. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorized the company's filling and mitigation plan under Nationwide Perm...
The court holds that the federal governments' denial of a developer's application for a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §404 permit to dredge and fill certain underwater lakebottom property did not constitute a regulatory taking. The developer claimed that the denial resulted in a takin...
The court holds that environmental groups may seek civil penalties based on allegations of a shipyard's continuing Federal Water Pollution Control Act violations that contribute to specific injuries. The court first holds that Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment, 118 S. Ct. 1003, 28 ELR 2...