The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) interpretation of the 1988 Ocean Dumping Ban Act equating ocean incineration with ocean dumping and its subsequent decision to suspend consideration of an ocean incineration permit was reasonable. The Ocean Dumping Ban Act, passed by...

The court holds that it has subject matter jurisdiction to review a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) citizen suit concerning illegal destruction of North Carolina wetlands because plaintiffs have clearly alleged continuing violations, the statute-of-limitations period would not begin to r...

The court holds that a state implementation plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act is not as a matter of law superseded by a site-specific permit issued by the state, and SIP compliance is still required. The court first observes that the SIP provides that approval of a particular project does not relie...

The court holds that a municipality is not a "state" for purposes of recovering response costs under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §107(a)(4)(A). This subparagraph authorizes the federal government and states to recover their response costs, and plac...

The court holds that the trustees of a trust that had owned a company that generated hazardous waste found at a city landfill are not liable to the city for its response costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. The city alleged that the trustees failed t...

The court holds that the district court lacked jurisdiction over a challenge to the closure of the South Atlantic King Mackerel fisheries. The South Atlantic Regional Council, pursuant to the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act, closed both the recreational and commercial fishing season...

The court rules that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not provide a private cause of action for building renovators to recover from previous owners the cost of removing asbestos installed as part of the structure of a building. The court first h...

The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) designation of an insured as a potentially responsible party (PRP) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act does not trigger the insurer's duty to defend. The insured's policy requires the insur...

The court holds that conversion of an abandoned railroad right-of-way to a trail under §8(d) of the National Trails System Act does not violate the Contracts, Due Process, Commerce, or Takings Clauses of the Constitution regarding plaintiffs whose property is subject to the right-of-way. The court ...

The court holds that it lacks jurisdiction to review a challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) disapproval of a contractor selected by a potentially responsible party to perform removal work required by an EPA administrative order under §106 of the Comprehensive Environmental Res...