The court holds that a parcel of land on which dikes and levees were built without a permit under §404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) is a "wetland" within the meaning of the Corps of Engineers' regulations, and defendants are not entitled to a farming or silviculture exemption ...

The court, sitting en banc, reverses an earlier panel decision, 18 ELR 20024, and rules that where a public interest law firm that customarily charges below market rate is awarded attorney fees pursuant to a fee-shifting citizen suit provision, the lodestar should be calculated according to the prev...

The court holds that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) decisions not to undertake enforcement actions are not judicially reviewable, because neither the Atomic Energy Act nor the NRC's regulations provide a meaningful standard of judicial review. The plaintiffs had requested the NRC to beg...

The court holds that San Diego's standardless refusal to permit use of a hazardous waste incinerator is preempted by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The incinerator, intended for research and de...

The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) administrative warrant to search and take samples from the plaintiff's premises was properly issued, and that EPA did not exceed its statutory authority under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) §3007(a). Plaintiff sought ...

The court holds it lacks jurisdiction in a citizen suit under §304 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) failure to list eight substances as hazardous air pollutants under CAA §112. The court notes that EPA has a non-discretionary duty under §112(b)(...

The court holds that certain road construction and logging activities in the Beaverhead National Forest do not violate the Montana Wilderness Study Act (MWSA), and that there are issues of material fact as to whether the combined effects of the road construction and logging require an environmental ...

The court holds that a bankruptcy trustee may unconditionally abandon property that contains violations of state environmental laws, since the site poses no imminent health threat and the debtor's estate includes no unencumbered assets to finance the cleanup. The prohibition of the abandonment of pr...

The court holds that an operator of a wood treating plant violated the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) by treating, storing, or disposing of hazardous waste without obtaining a permit or interim status, and must undertake corrective action. The plant released creosote contaminants into...

The court rules that the Claims Court has exclusive jurisdiction over actions against the federal government to recover oil spill cleanup costs. Section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act provides for exclusive jurisdiction in the Claims Court, and to allow actions to recover oil spill c...