The California Supreme Court rules that the public trust doctrine is an independent source of water law and that the state Water Resources Board has both the power and the duty to reconsider Los Angeles' appropriation of water from streams feeding Mono Lake, California, taking into account both appr...

The court holds that the Secretary of the Interior has a mandatory duty under §518 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) to impose civil penalties on surface coal mine operators who fail to abate violations and are issued cessation orders under §521(a)(3). First, the court rule...

Ruling on pretrial motions affecting a number of asbestos cases, the court holds that the market share theory of liability may not be used in asbestos-related products liability actions. Initially, the court rules that plaintifffs may introduce minutes of the Asbestos Textile Institute to prove know...

The court upholds the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) conditional approval and disapproval of portions of Michigan's state implementation plan (SIP), which had the effect of requiring the state to adopt EPA's reasonably available control technology (RACT) standards. Applying an arbitrary a...

The district court holds that the Department of the Interior's expression of an interest in acquiring property adjacent to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is not a proposal for a major federal action requiring preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environment...

The court rules that dredging and filling of Niles Channel, Florida by the propeller systems of defendants' tugboats without Army Corps of Engineers permits violated §10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and §404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). After obtaining the necessary Corps p...

The court, having previously ruled, 12 ELR 20682, that defendants filled in wetlands of the East Everglades, Florida without a permit in violation of §404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), now orders defendants to restore the illegally filled sites. Initially, the court finds that...

The court rules that it lacks jurisdiction to impose hazardous waste cleanup injunctions on Johns-Manville while the company is protected by the automatic stay provision of the federal bankruptcy law. The court finds that the relief requested by the United States and New Hampshire would require John...

Affirming the Eighth Circuit, 11 ELR 20846, the Supreme Court rules that North Dakota may not revoke its consent to the United States' acquisition of waterfowl production areas within the state under the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act with funds from the Wetlands Act of 1961 (Loan Act). The Stamp ...

The Second Circuit affirms the district court decisions, 12 ELR 20519 and 20742, that the Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) and the Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and that the Corps violated the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) in approvi...