The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator has a non-discretionary duty to commence a civil action to stop construction on a new facility until defendant has complied with the Clear Air Act. The court first rules that the citizen suit is not moot. Plaintiff seeks to...
The court holds that the Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) violated §117(b) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) by failing to consult and cooperate with Tennessee officialsin conducting siting studies for a temporary nuclear waste disposal and storage facility in the state. The NWPA, b...
The court rules that § 105 of the Bankruptcy Code does not authorize a bankruptcy judge to enjoin the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from terminating the interim status of a hazardous waste disposal facility owned by a firm in a Chapter 11 reorganization. As a result of a mechanics lien, app...
The court holds that plaintiff environmental group has standing to bring a citizen suit under §505 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), and may sue for past violations, and that no statute of limitations applies. Plaintiff brought this citizen suit claiming that defendant violated th...
In a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) citizen enforcement suit, the court holds that plaintiffs have standing, there is no applicable statute of limitations, laches does not apply, and the violations of defendant's national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit may not be ...
The court holds that the Atomic Energy Act preempts a county law criminalizing participation in emergency response tests involving simulation of local government roles. The Suffolk County law, the latest chapter in the protracted struggle over the future of the Shoreham nuclear facility in New York,...
The court rules that Delaware's Coastal Zone Act (CZA) is immunized from plaintiffs' Commerce Clause challenge because Congress has authorized the developmental restrictions in the Act by its passage of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) and the Secretary of Commerce has approved Delaware's coas...
The court holds that hazardous waste site owners, operators, and generators are liable for cleanup costs in an action brought by federal, state, and local governments under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ...
The court holds that Congress must comply with the regulatory review process it established in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and that it exceeded its authority by appropriating funds for the Wallisville water project in Texas by relying on Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps') documents t...
On rehearing en banc, the court holds that the Nuclear Regulaory Commission (NRC) is not required to hold a hearing on the poential effects of an earthquake on emergency response to a simultaneous but independently caused radiological accident at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, and that a pet...