The court upholds sanctions under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure against two attorneys for failing to properly follow Endangered Species Act (ESA) notice requirements for citizen suits. The attorneys sought to enjoin private citizens from constructing a residential subdivision that ...

The court holds that draining a wetland is a regulated activity under Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §404(b) and requires a permit when it presents the threat of significant alteration or destruction of a wetland. A citizens' group and a Texas city sought declaratory and injunctive rel...

The court upholds the conviction of civilian engineers working for the U.S. Army for multiple violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's (RCRA's) criminal provisions. The engineers were involved in the development of chemical warfare systems at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Th...

The court holds that the owners of a private septic system are liable under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), state clean water laws, and the common law of public nuisance for discharging raw sewage into the Sakonnet River. The case is the consolidation of citizen suits filed by priva...

The court holds that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) implicitly preempts a town ordinance purporting to regulate the use of pesticides in the town. The court first holds that, while FIFRA does not contain any express preemption language, it does contain language indic...

The court holds that the analysis and conclusion of a Brooklyn development project's environmental impact statement (EIS) were reasonable with regard to the effect of the project on air quality standards in the area. In its final EIS, the city outlined mitigation measures designed to offset carbon m...

The court holds that an environmental organization's claim that the Wilderness Act creates federal reserved water rights is not ripe. The Sierra Club had alleged that the Forest Service's failure to claim wilderness water rights on ongoing water rights adjudications violated federal law and the publ...

The court, for the most part, holds that a group of commercial fishermen and subsistence users are entitled to a preliminary injunction of the Forest Service's authorization of logging activities that could increase the adverse environmental impact on stream fisheries in the Tongass National Forest....

The court holds that an electroplating and metal finishing plant owner is liable in a citizen suit under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) for violations of the Act's pretreatment standards and reporting requirements. The court first holds that plaintiffs need not show that defendant's...

The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) procedures in issuing a permit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for the nation's largest hazardous waste management facility in Emelle, Alabama, were sufficient to exempt EPA from performing an environmental im...