The court holds that the Maryland Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program is constitutional as applied in Carroll County. The court holds that there is little likelihood that plaintiff would prevail on its claim that the inspection program violates the Fourth Amendment. The public has no reasonable exp...

The court holds that environmental groups that won substantial relief in litigation to enforce a consent decree requiring the implementation of Pennsylvania's automobile emission inspection and maintenance (I/M) program are entitled to attorney fees and costs under Clean Air Act §304(d). The court ...

With a five-Justice majority, the Court rules that §301(l) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) does not bar issuance of fundamentally different factors (FDF) variances from pretreatment standards governing discharges of toxic pollutants from industry categories. The Court first notes...

The court holds that §6001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act does not waive sovereign immunity to state criminal actions. In an action against the Veterans Administration arising under California law governing disposal of hazardous waste, the court first notes that a waiver of sovereign...

The court holds that a user of groundwater may be liable to neighboring property owners for unreasonable withdrawal of groundwater from a common aquifer. In so doing, the court overrules its 1861 holding adopting the "English rule" that a landowner has an absolute right to use groundwater under his ...

The court upholds the Environmental Protection Agency's inclusion of sites at which mining wastes and power plant fly ash were disposed, as well as inactive uranium mills licensed by states, on the national priorities list (NPL) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabi...

The court holds that challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) hazard ranking system (HRS) were ripe during the statutory review period, and that in the alternative, the HRS is reasonable and consistent with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ...

The court upholds the district court's award of attorney fees under Clean Air Act §304(d) to an environmental group that won substantial relief in litigation to enforce a consent decree requiring implementation of Pennsylvania's automobile emission inspection and maintenance program. The court hold...

The court holds that contribution is available for parties found jointly liable under §107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The court first rules that Congress empowered the federal courts to establish a federal common law of liability under §1...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a 4-3 decision written by Judge Wright, holds that plaintiffs in the Alaska pipeline litigation are entitled to an award of attorney fees against the private oil pipeline company defendant. Plaintiffs' posture in enforcing the right ...