The court rules that Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) §6001 and Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) §313 waive the federal government's sovereign immunity from civil penalties imposed by states. RCRA §6001 waives sovereign immunity for "procedural requirements," and the court...

The court holds environmental groups are not entitled to judicial review of the final land and resource management plan (LRMP) for Texas national forests because they have failed to exhaust their administrative remedies with the Forest Service, but the Forest Service's denial of plaintiffs' request ...

The court holds that a municipal corporation is not a "person" subject to the requirements of the Endangered Species Act. Although the Act defines "person" as including "instrumentalities" of political subdivisions, a municipal corporation cannot be considered both a political subdivision and an ins...

The court holds that a report jointly issued by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommending that "supplied air" respirators be used for asbestos exposure is nonbinding and purely informational, and its publication does ...

The court holds that the Air Force is not required to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the environmental impacts of nuclear war in connection with the installation of radio towers that are part of the Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN), a communications grid designed to function ...

The court holds that the United States Forest Service (USFS) violated the National Environmental Policy Act in conducting a road reconstruction project and related timber sales in the Kootenai National Forest in Montana. The court first holds that the USFS' environmental assessments (EAs) for portio...

The court holds that the discretionary function exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act bars recovery against the United States for damages caused by the accidental release of two acid clouds during the cleanup of an abandoned chemical facility. The Environmental Protection Agency On Scene Coordina...

The court holds that a public interest law firm is entitled to a supplemental award of attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. §1988 and the common benefit doctrine for monitoring the implementation of a consent decree that resolved a challenge to the construction of a freeway in Los Angeles. The court first...

The court holds that the Secretary of Commerce violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in issuing a permit to take a fixed number of Dall's porpoises incidental to commercial salmon fishing, since the incidental taking of other marine mammals not included in the permit was a virtual certain...

The court holds that environmental groups are entitled to an injunction enjoining construction of a proposed Navy homeport for the U.S.S. Nimitz in Everett, Washington, because the state has not yet concluded review proceedings for the Navy's dredging permit under the state Shoreline Management Act ...