The court holds that a state environmental agency does not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of two state statutes that limited the agency's authority to set ordinary high watermark boundaries for lakes. The court first holds that a state agency generally may not attack a statute's co...

The court holds that the Alaska mining commissioner permissibly nullified the mining rights acquired by a mining claims locator on state-selected federal lands. The court first holds that the commissioner did not err in finding that the locator was not qualified to conduct business in Alaska and, th...

The court holds that the failure of two state air quality commissioners to disclose potential conflicts of interest did not invalidate a commission rule that amended the opacity and sulfur dioxide regulations for coal-fired utility boilers. The court first holds that the district court applied an in...

The court holds that a county water agency that certified that its environmental impact report (EIR) for a proposed water project calling for increased water use from mountain lakes complied with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and a county irrigation district that exempted its propo...

The court affirms a lower court's decision to deny a recycling company's motion to strike a default judgment issued against it for violating state hazardous waste laws, but vacates the final order and remands the case because the lower court failed to conduct a hearing on the relief requested by the...

The court holds that because a land developer failed to receive an appealable final decision on its wetlands development permit application, the developer's takings claim against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is not ripe and must be dismissed as premature. The Corps, after receiving the developer...

The court holds that government agents did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they searched a trailer rented by an asbestos removal contractor who arranged for the disposal of asbestos from three elementary schools. The court first holds that the contractor did not have a legitimate expectation o...

The court affirms a district court ruling and holds that domestic corporations conducting mining activities in the Pacific Rim did not violate international law. A resident of the Republic of Indonesia alleged that the corporations' mining operations caused environmental abuses, human rights violati...

The court reverses a district court decision and holds that, under Vermont law, an insurance policy's pollution exclusion precludes the insurer's duty to indemnify a clothing manufacturer for liability and defense costs incurred in response to claims arising from contamination at the manufacturer's ...

The court affirms a trial court decision and holds that a company cannot challenge an air pollution authority's regulatory classification before a pollution control hearing board. After the air pollution authority imposed a $182 registration fee on the company, the company appealed to the pollution ...