The Ninth Circuit affirms the district court's ruling, 12 ELR 20107, that the Secretary of the Interior's transfer of the authority to regulate oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from the Fish and Wildlife Service to the United States Geological Survey violates the Nation...

The court rules that New Mexico water pollution control regulations defining toxic pollutants in terms of their potential harmful effects are constitutional. The court first rules that the challenged regulation is neither unconstitutionally vague nor an ex post facto law. Although the rule does not ...

The court upholds the constitutionality of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act as applied to appellant's conviction for illegally removing a wild free-roaming horse from the public lands. The court rules that the definition of the category of horses protected by the statute, "unbranded and u...

The Eleventh Circuit reverses a preliminary injunction granted by the district court, ruling that an agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy allowing site preparation for the Clinch River breeder reactor prior to preparation of a final environmental i...

The court rules that Humboldt County did not hold rights-of-way in two roads in the Blue Lake scenic area and upholds the Bureau of Land Management's closure of the roads to vehicular use. Initially, the court rules that appellant was barred from claiming a right-of-way in the Theodore Basin road be...

The Wisconsin Supreme Court holds that the owner of a solar-heated residence has a cause of action in common-law private nuisance for the alleged obstruction of solar access by an adjoining landowner. Appellant asserted that respondent's proposed home, although in conformance with existing deed rest...

The court denies defendants' petition to vacate their convictions for discharging pollutants from mushroom composting operations without a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit in violation of §§301(a) and 309(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA). The Third Circui...

The district court rules that New York City Fire Department regulations governing the transportation of hazardous gas in and around New York City are not preempted by the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA) or the Motor Carrier Safety regulations. The fire department regulations allow only...

The court rules that an action for civil penalties under §309(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) for an unpermitted discharge of water pollution resulting from a spill from a Mississippi River barge is not subject to the Limitation of Shipowner's Liability Act. Since the language...

The Ohio Supreme Court holds that a schedule of compliance is an enforceable condition of a national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit and upholds a civil penalty for violation of the permit based on consideration of environmental harm, economic benefit, defendant's recalcitrance...