The court holds that in an investigation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), EPA is not authorized to examine all documents at a hazardous waste site to determine which are subject to a previously issued inspection warrant. Both the current and p...

The court holds that the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), their own regulations, and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing to comprehensively analyze the effects of oil and gas leases on the Deep Creek Further Planning Area of t...

The court holds that plaintiff that successfully petitioned the district court to reinstate its contract with the Department of the Interior to perform a geologic study is entitled to attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA); that such fees should not include expenses incurred for ...

The court rules that substantial compliance with the 60-day notice requirements for citizen suits under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is not su...

The court rules that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) regulations implementing the noncompliance penalties provision of the Clean Air Act are valid as applied to regulated utilities. Section 120(d)(2) of the Act authorizes EPA to sanction noncomplying stationary sources by assessing pen...

The Court holds that §304(d) of the Clean Air Act authorizes attorney fees for time spent by counsel in administrative proceedings, but the lodestar value should not ordinarily be adjusted to reflect superior performance. Plaintiffs in this case were involved in protracted litigation over Pennsylva...

The court holds that the Eleventh Amendment bars a defendant in a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) cost recovery action from filing a third-party claim in federal court against Pennsylvania alleging that the state is responsible for the hazardous waste r...

The court holds that it does not have subject matter jurisdiction to hear plaintiff's challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) request for information pursuant to §114 of the Clean Air Act and notification of a possible violation of §112. The court first holds that it does not ha...

The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) duty under Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §309(a)(3) to initiate enforcement proceedings against placer miners in violation of national pollutant discharge elimination system permits is discretionary. The court first ru...

The court holds that §3006 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), authorizing states to operate hazardous waste programs in lieu of the federal program, does not preclude the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from exercising its power under RCRA §3013 to order monitoring and tes...