The court holds that the "state standard limitation" in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) final lead phasedown regulations is reasonable. The regulations allow gasoline producers who bring their gasoline lead content below that required by federal law to "bank" those credits and use them...
The court holds that the Corps of Engineers' supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the Elk Creek Dam project in Oregon is deficient because its wildlife mitigation plan is incomplete, it fails to take into account new information acquired since the original EIS was prepared, and fai...
On rehearing en banc, the court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) improperly considered cost and technological feasibility factors in determining safety levels for vinyl chloride emissions under Clean Air Act §112. The court initially holds that the Natural Resource Defense Counc...
The court upholds substantially all of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit regulations under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), but holds that EPA lacks the authority under the FWPCA or the National Environmental ...
The court holds that placer mining operations disturbing five acres or less of public lands are not federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and thus the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is not required to perform environmental assessments (EAs) and subsistence studies befo...
The court holds that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) must prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) addressing the cumulative impacts of placer mining operations that contribute incrementally to siltation and other environmental degradation in a national wild river watershed. Twenty-three ...
The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exceeded its authority by amending its definition of "solid waste" under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to include secondary materials destined for reuse within an industry's ongoing production process. The court initi...
The court appoints a special master in a suit brought by the United States under § 106 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) against parties potentially responsible for conditions at an Oklahoma hazardous waste site. The court first holds that excepti...
The court holds that a defendant in a cost recovery action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) may bring compulsory counterclaims against the United States pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The court first holds that it lacks jurisdi...
On reconsideration, the court holds that defendant's counterclaims in a cost recovery action brought by the United States under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) are barred by the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA)....