The court holds that a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §404 permit is required to discharge fill material into navigable waters during construction of a hydroelectric facility previously licensed by the Federal Power Commission (FPC). The court initially holds that the Federal Power Act...

The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) arbitrarily and capriciously lifted its ban under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) on imported mangoes treated with ethylene dibromide (EDB), a known carcinogen, based solely upon consideration of the ban's impact on fore...

The Court holds that the subsidence provisions of the Pennsylvania Bituminous Mine Subsidence Act (Act) on their face do not violate the Taking or Contract Clauses of the Constitution. The Court first holds that §4 of the Act, which prohibits coal mining that causes subsidence damage to buildings, ...

The court rules that the punitive damage provision of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not violate the due process rights of recipients of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrative cleanup orders. In footnotes, the court initially not...

The court rules that a violation of a quarterly average limitation of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) lead phasedown rule constitutes only a single day of violation under Clean Air Act §211(d), which imposes a mandatory $10,000 per day civil penalty for violations of EPA's fuel additi...

The court holds that the decision of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) to renew a wastewater discharge permit for Howard County's Little Patuxent Wastewater Treatment Plant that increases its discharge and does not set effluent standards for nitrogen was not supported by su...

The court holds that previous litigation in state court and New Jersey's "entire controversy" doctrine do not bar a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) citizen suit in federal court and declines to abstain while state proceedings are pending. The court holds that it has exclusive jurisdict...

The court holds that a trustee in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy may not abandon hazardous waste in contravention of state environmental laws, and that costs incurred by the state in cleaning up the site after bankruptcy was declared are entitled to first priority as an administrative expense under the Bank...

The court holds that construction of a highway through a state park that was established partially with federal funds is a federal action within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) but that there is no cause of action under either §6(f) of the Land and Water Conservation Fun...

The court holds that the Corps of Engineers' wetlands determination for 50 acres of plaintiffs' land that were saturated as a result of the construction of a dam was not arbitrary and capricious. The court initially observes that Corps' wetlands determinations are evaluated under the Administrative ...