The court holds that plaintiffs lack standing in their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) challenge to the Department of Agriculture's germplasm preservation program. Germplasm consists of plants, seeds, and plant parts maintained for study, breeding, or genetic research. Plaintiffs allege tha...
The court holds that a private party may recover prejudgment interest and attorney fees under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) from the United States. The court first holds that CERCLA §120 waives the federal government's sovereign immunity to an aw...
The court upholds the state of New York's decision to adopt the strict motor vehicle emission controls known as the California standards. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) adopted regulations requiring that as of 1993 all new motor vehicles sold in the state comply with the...
The court rules on defendants' appeal of their convictions for violations of the criminal provisions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The case concerns corporations and individuals involved wi...
The court rules that a Colorado irrigation district holds an easement under an 1891 grant to land underlying a reservoir, and that the owners of the land underlying the reservoir who hold the servient estate may not use the waters of the reservoir for recreational and fishing purposes that interfere...
The court holds that unincurred Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) response costs for prepetition releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances are "claims" dischargeable in bankruptcy. A diversified steel, aerospace, and energy corporation filed...
The court holds that a district court improperly ruled that Nevada, Washington, and South Carolina, which are the only states that operate low-level radioactive waste disposal sites, must accept low-level radioactive waste from Michigan. After Congress passed the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy A...
In the first reported decision applying the 1990 Farm Bill amendments in a Swampbuster case, the court vacates a district court's preamendment finding of a blanket good-faith exemption to ineligibility from farm subsidies and programs for converting wetlands because the amended Swampbuster enforceme...
The court holds that liability to state and federal governments for environmental cleanup costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is compensable as "damages" under comprehensive general liability insurance policies governed by Missouri law. In t...
The court holds that a dissolved waste oil company and its president are primarily liable for governmental response costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and an energy company that purchased the waste oil company's assets is liable under CERC...