On remand from the First Circuit Court of Appeals, the district court finds that an alternative route for a highway was not adequately discussed in the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project. The court had previously held, 10 ELR 20293, that on the basis of the administrative record as...

The court grants a temporary restraining order preventing the Department of the Interior from including five rivers in northern California within the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System until plaintiffs are included in the evaluation process required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA...

In consolidated cases, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rules that both a California and Oregon district court were without jurisdiction to enjoin the Department of the Interior from adding portions of five California rivers to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The two lower courts, 11 E...

The court rules that owners of alluvial valley floor (AVF) land on which strip mining is prohibited must be offered federal coal-bering land in exchange, and it remands a number of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) regulations for determining the unsuitability of lands for surface coal mining ...

The court rules that completion of a 4.5-mile highway segment in Clinton, Louisiana, to be funded exclusively by the state, is neither a "major Federal action" under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) nor federal action for purposes of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). With th...

The court orders the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to initiate rulemaking proceedings for the testing of priority chemicals, as required under §4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. One year ago, the court issued partial judgment, 10 ELR 20274, ruling that EPA must submit plans to initiate...

The court enters a settlement agreement between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Conservation Law Foundation of New England, and the Department of the Interior concerning oil and gas leasing in the Georges Bank. The agreement provides that (1) the federal government will provide all parties wi...

Affirming the district court's award of summary judgment to appellees, the court rejects Indian appellants' claims that (1) the Rainbow Bridge National Monument must be managed to accommodate appellants' exercise of freedom of religion and (2) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) an en...

The court rules that appellees, a group of municipalities in Utah and California, are not required to reimburse the Department of the Interior for expenses incurred in connection with their application for permits and rights-of-way for the Intermountain Power Project. Under §304 of the Federal Land...

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dismisses a challenge to a national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit for a sewage treatment plant on mootness grounds and remands the permit for another plant for further proceedings. The court first rules that petitioners have standing to chall...