The court rules that §404(s) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) confers a discretionary and not a mandatory duty on the Corps of Engineers to enforce compliance with the statute's permit requirements. Looking to the actual language of §404(s) to determine congressional intent, the ...

The court holds that the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act insulates federal agencies and personnel from claims by uranium miners and their heirs for failing to establish safety standards for uranium mines and to warn miners of known dangers. The court notes that the ex...

In a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) criminal action, the court holds that the jury should not have been instructed on the doctrine of deliberate avoidance or willful blindness because the government failed to introduce sufficient evidence that the defendants avoided learning whether the equipme...

The court holds that a suit to determine defendant's liability to indemnify for pollution damages resulting from releases of hazardous wastes from property leased by plaintiff to a third party is justicable and that summary judgment is inappropriate because material factual issues remain in dispute....

The court holds that the subsidence provisions of the Pennsylvania Bituminous Mine Subsidence Act on their face do not violate the Taking Clause or the Contract Clause of the Constitution. In a note, the court rules that since the suit is a challenge to a state program enacted to implement the feder...

The court rules that petitioners, who had challenged Environmental Protection Agency rules on tall stacks, are entitled to attorney fees under §307(f) of the Clean Air Act for time spent on issues on which they were at least partly successful and for their work on the fee petition, but not for work...

The court holds that the Secretary of Commerce has a non-discretionary duty under the Pelly Amendment to the Fisherman's Protective Act and the Packwood-Magnuson Amendment to the Fishery Conservation and Management Act to certify that Japan "diminish[ed] the effectiveness" of the International Conve...

The court holds that plaintiff has standing to bring a citizen suit under §505 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act alleging violations of the terms of defendants' national pollutant discharge elimination system permit for discharges into San Pablo and San Francisco bays and denies defendants...

The court holds that the Fish and Wildlife Service has violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by allowing the hunting of migratory birds with lead shot in areas in five states. The court first holds that the defendants have violated NEPA in not pre...

The court holds that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is not unreasonably delaying its rulemaking to tighten standards protecting miners from exposure to the radioactive decay products of radon gas. The court first holds that it may review the claim of agency delay. Since the agency ...