In challenges to oil and gas drilling permits and leasing practices on federal lands around Little Granite Creek Canyon, Wyoming, the court dismisses plaintiffs' common law and constitutional claims, leaving for trial claims based on the Mineral Lands Leasing Act (MLA), Endangered Species Act (ESA),...

The court holds that under §511 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) retains discretion to determine whether an environmental impact statement (EIS) must be prepared for a sewage treatment project to be constructed with federal funds. The cour...

The court rules that portions of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations governing the use of tall smokestacks are inconsistent with §123 of the Clean Air Act. The rules address the maximum stack height for which a source will be given credit in calculating emission limitations required t...

The court rules that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC's) failure to discuss reasonable alternatives to a hydroelectric project in its environmental impact statement (EIS) did not require remand of the project's license, since FERC cured the defect by discussing the alternatives in an...

The court upholds in part and remands in part Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) general pretreatment regulations and categorical pretreatment standards for the electroplating industry under §307(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). The court first addresses the general pretrea...

The court rules that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) complied with §207(b) of the Clean Air Act in promulgating regulations establishing "short tests" to determine when motor vehicle manufacturers must honor a warranty that their products will comply with emission limitations in use. The ...

The court upholds in part and vacates in part Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations promulgated under §207(a)(2) of the Clean Air Act establishing a motor vehicle emission control certification program for parts produced by manufacturers other than the automaker (after-market parts). Fi...

The court upholds the Army Corps of Engineers' denial of a nationwide permit under §404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) for construction of a dam, based on the potential adverse downstream impacts of the altered water flow on the whooping crane's, an endangered species, habitat. ...

The Fourth Circuit affirms the district court's determination, 12 ELR 20843, that appellants' storage of drummed liquid wastes violated the notification and permit requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), §§3005 and 3010, and Virginia nuisance law, and warranted injunctiv...

The court upholds the West Virginia Hazardous Chemical Substances Act (HCSA), a "right-to-know" law, against state and federal constitutional challenges but strikes regulations promulgated under the Act for procedural flaws. Addressing the constitutional challenges, the court holds that the title of...