The court holds that the United States government is not estopped from asserting claims against a private citizen who built a seawall in United States waters without reasonable reliance on an official's verbal representation of the Army Corps of Engineers jurisdiction under the Federal Water Polluti...

The court holds that a trade association of hazardous waste treatment firms lacks standing to bring a challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) California List rule under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This rule implements RCRA §3004(d), which bans the land disp...

The court holds that defendants are liable under §107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for the federal government's response costs at a Georgia farm site, but defendants are not liable for punitive damages. The court holds that the owner of the f...

The court holds that cost recovery under §§107 and 113 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), against a Chapter 11 debtor, is excepted from the automatic stay under §362(b)(4) of the Bankruptcy Code. The United States' CERCLA suit sought recovery of...

On the government's motion for reconsideration, the court holds that six of seven defendants in a cost recovery action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act are liable for punitive damages under §107(c)(3) for failure to comply with an Environmental Protect...

The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) guidelines under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for federal agency purchases of recycled paper products are reasonable. RCRA §6002(c)(1)(C) provides that a procuring agency is not required to purchase recycled pro...

The court holds that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar a citizen suit under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWCPA) against prison officials for alleged violations of the prison's National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, even if the prison officials lacked authority ...

The court holds that response costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) are covered under insurance policies as "damages" resulting from "property damage." The court first holds that CERCLA response costs are "damages." The term should be given it...

The court holds that an oil company may be liable as a culpable third party under §311(g) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) for costs arising from excavation and removal of oil-contaminated ground at a national forest site, even if the United States Forest Service as owner/operator...

The court holds that an environmental organization is entitled to a preliminary injunction enjoining the National Park Service (NPS) from proceeding with the construction of a hotel complex on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The NPS entered into a contract for the construction of a hote...