The court holds that §701(a)(2) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) bars review of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) denial of a petition challenging the adequacy of a utility's tests on the containment structures of three nuclear reactors. Petitioners had alleged that the containme...

The court holds that a Forest Service plan to harvest burned timber in a national forest without completing a management plan for an adjacent wild and scenic river violates the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA). The court first holds that the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Water Poll...

The court holds that a National Park Service management plan allowing restricted use of offroad vehicles (ORVs) on Cape Cod National Seashore is valid. The court first holds that the Secretary of the Interior rationally decided that ORV use under the plan is an appropriate public use of the seashore...

The court rules that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a non-discretionary duty under Clean Air Act §109(d) to decide formally whether to revise the sulfur oxides secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to account for the effects of acid rain. Clean Air Act §304 grants...

The court denies defendants' motions for summary judgment on claims brought under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for the alleged contamination of plaintiffs' water supply with hazardous substanc...

The court holds that an Indian tribe, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Indian Health Service share responsibility under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for cleaning up solid waste dumps on the Indian reservation. The court first holds that the tribe has no sovereign immunity t...

The court holds that King County, Washington, violated Washington's State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) in denying a developer's application to create a housing subdivision by failing to specify the significant environmental effects of the project and by inadequately addressing mitigation. The cou...

The court holds that Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) §6001 does not waive the United States' sovereign immunity from civil penalties assessed by a state agency for violations of state hazardous waste laws. The court first observes that waivers of sovereign immunity cannot be implied a...

The court holds that a district court properly dismissed a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) citizen suit challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) denial of a publicly owned treatment works' (POTW's) application for authority to issue removal credits to indirect discharge...

The court rules that under Maryland and Delaware law the term "damages" in a comprehensive general liability (CGL) insurance policy may include environmental cleanup costs. The court first holds that claims arising from contamination of the insured's Maryland and Delaware sites will be resolved unde...