The court holds that Hawaii's coastal zone program, adopted pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act requires a county planning commission to determine whether a development project is consistent with the state Act's objectives before it issues a special management area permit. The court first re...

The court holds that mandamus compelling the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to adhere to an expedited timetable for issuing a workplace exposure standard for benzene is not appropriate prior to the conclusion of the rulemaking process. The court first declines to determine in a...

The court upholds the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC's) denial of an application for a hydropower license for modification to an existing dam on a river under study for inclusion in the wild and scenic river system. Petitioner obtained a preliminary permit to study its proposed project...

In a motion for a preliminary injunction, the court rules that §202(d) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) requires that termination of public and classifications must be consistent with resource management plans, and that §309(e) requires public participation in decisions to rev...

On reconsideration in an action challenging the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) termination of land classifications and withdrawal revocations under the Federal Land Policy and Management act (FLPMA), 16 ELR 20422, the court holds that FLPMA does not require that plaintiff exhaust its administra...

The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acted in conformity with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) when it issued best available technology (BAT) effluent limitations for the nonferrous metals manufacturing industry. The court h...

The court holds that the Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') decision to remove all remaining California condors from the wild was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and that FWS should have considered alternatives to the action...

The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was arbitrary and capricious in relaxing sulfur dioxide emission limits for two Ohio power plants based on an air qualify model that had not been validated at the plant locations. EPA had approved a request from the owners of two power p...

In a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §505 citizen suit to enforce a national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit, the court holds that relief may be sought for past NPDES violations, that no state or federal statute of limitations applies, and that defendants are stric...

The court rules that regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency establishing recommended maximum contaminant levels (RMCLs) are reviewable only in the Court of Appeals or the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) under §1448(a)(1) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). While §...