The court enjoins acquisition of land and construction of highway improvements pending preparation of an adequate environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act. Plaintiff has standing to bring this suit under City of Davis v. Coleman, 5 ELR 20633 (9th Cir. 1975). T...

Affirming the lower court's grant of summary judgment for defendants, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals blocks plaintiffs' attempts to enjoin construction of the Oahe Diversion Unit of the Missouri River Basin Project. The Oahe Unit is intended to divert water from an existing reservoir for indust...

Regulatory land use controls adopted by Martha's Vineyard Commission, being regional in scope, supersede a less restrictive local zoning bylaw. Plaintiff owns undeveloped parcels near Sengekontacket Pond, a major tidal pond on Martha's Vineyard, and had planned to develop the parcels pursuant to the...

In a case of first impression in Texas dealing directly with land subsidence caused by withdrawal of groundwater, the court holds that if a landowner negligently withdraws water from his property so that the withdrawal is the proximate cause of subsidence of another's land, the fact that he owns the...

The Illinois Supreme Court holds that a statute conveying 194.6 acres of Lake Michigan submerged lands to United States Steel violates the public trust doctrine. The statute, passed in 1963, was challenged by a taxpayer, whose suit was dismissed for lack of standing. Droste v. Kerner, 34 Ill. 2d 495...

The Ninth Circuit affirms a lower court's judgment, 6 ELR 20120, that §8 of the Reclamation Act of 1902 does not require the United States to obtain from the California State Water Resources Control Board a permit to appropriate unappropriated water from the Stanislaus River for the New Melones dam...

The Fifth Circuit affirms a lower court's judgment that plaintiffs' suit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against dredging in Lake Pontchartrain by a developer is barred by laches. Plaintiffs alleged that the Corps had issued a dredging permit to the developer pursuant to §10 of the Rivers...

The court affirms a lower court's judgment that the amplified final environmental impact statement prepared by the Soil Conservation Service in connection with the proposed Cane Creek Recreational Development fully complies within the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).Plai...

The court affirms a trial court's dismissal of plaintiff's first five claims and grant of summary judgment for defendant on the sixth and seventh causes of action in a landowner's suit to enjoin condemnation of land for the purpose of relocating a county highway. Addressing the sole issue raised dur...

Relying on the Property Clause of the United States Constitution, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the authority of the National Park Service to enforce no-hunting regulations on nonfederal waters running through a national park. Appellant was convicted of duck hunting on a lake within Vo...