The court holds that the federal government is not liable to plaintiffs for its alleged failure to control black-tailed prairie dog populations. The court first holds that it is without subject matter jurisdiction over the counts involving claims for money damages against federal defendants in their...

The court holds that plaintiffs are not entitled to mandamus to force the government to control prairie dog populations, but that prairie dog control was not committed to agency discretion and so the court can review agency actions. For mandamus to lie, the duty to be compelled must be ministerial, ...

The court holds that the district court properly ordered appellant to restore wetlands he filled in violation of two consent decrees.
[The Fourth Circuit opinion on which the challenged restoration order was based is published at 14 ELR 20093. An earlier district court opinion in the case is publis...

The court holds that the environmental impact statement (EIS) for sludge disposal from the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant in Los Angeles sufficiently considered ocean dumping alternatives to the project to permit the decisionmaker to make a reasoned choice. The court first holds that although t...

The court rules that the Secretary of Transportation's approval of Interstate Route H-3 In Hawaii violated the parkland protection provisions of the Department of Transportation Act (DOTA), but did not violate the Endangered Species Act (ESA) or the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Since th...

The court holds that under the state constitution and environmental statutes, the Environmental Control Commission (ECC) acts as a public trustee of the environment, and that the administrative record and findings for the issuance of a hazardous waste disposal permit to IT Corporation fail to show t...

The court holds that a district court has no jurisdiction to consider, in an action for civil penalties for violations of a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit, whether the water receiving the discharge was improperly classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a "water o...

The court holds that it erred in using the arbitrary and capricious standard of review to evaluate the discussion of alternatives in an environmental impact statement (EIS). The court denies a petition for rehearing en banc, but corrects its earlier statement of the standard of review. The use of th...

The court holds that a decision to deny intervention as of right is not immediately reviewable where conditional permissive intervention was granted, absent obvious prejudicial error. Denial of intervention is ordinarily immediately appealable, since the unsuccessful applicant for intervention is no...

The court rules that there may be preenforcement review of the constitutionality of penalties under §106(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and treble damages under §107(c)(3) of CERCLA for violations of administrative orders issued under §106...