The court declares that portions of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), ELR Stat. & Reg. 42401, including provisions restricting steep-slope coal mining, violate the Fifth and Tenth Amendments and permanently enjoins their enforcement. The court first declines to rule on the ...

The court denies a motion to require a nonprofit organization to post a security bond for a preliminary injunction. Previously, the court had preliminarily enjoined demolition of a historic mansion as part of an urban renewal project and required the federal Department of Housing and Urban Developme...

The court preliminarily enjoins further construction near and related to a regional airport pending preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Three federal agencies have or are about to grant funds for different parts of the work...

Affirming the district court, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals concludes that a suit to compel the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue standards to determine whether sewage sludge qualifies as a hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is no...

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the assessment against appellant under §311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of a $2,500 civil penalty for the discharge of 600 gallons of oil into a small creek. That the creek into which the oil was discharged was not capable of supporting navi...

The court denies defendants' renewed motions for summary judgment in a suit concerning Lock and Dam 26 on the Mississippi River. After Congress enacted legislation authorizing construction of the waterway project at issue, defendants moved for dismissal of plaintiffs' claim challenging the adequacy ...

The appellate court affirms a lower court's issuance of an injunction prohibiting continued operation of a licensed landfill for the disposal of hazardous chemical wastes and ordering the operator to remove the wastes buried there and restore the site. The trial court had jurisdiction to hear plaint...

The Washington Supreme Court remands a case concerning respondent's attempts to obtain a variance for its Tacoma smelter from applicable state air pollution regulations. In February 1976, respondent obtained from the Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency (PSAPCA) a variance from that agency's reg...

In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court reverses a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, 9 ELR 20603, and rules that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) veto of a proposed national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit issued by a duly authorized state agency is direc...

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms a district court's determination that the Corps of Engineers was not required to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) prior to issuing a permit under §10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act allowing construction of a transmission line across the Miss...