The court holds that a proposed increase in the sulfur content of the fuel burned at existing units of a Hawaiian Electric Company power plant is a "major modification" requiring prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) review under the Clean Air Act despite the company's contention that the lo...
The court rules that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) does not require imposition of specific restrictions to protect endangered whales and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) does not require preparation of a worst-case analysis of potential oil spills prior to an offshore oil and gas leas...
The court holds that application of the Corps of Engineers' 1975 Federal Water Pollution Control Act §404 regulations to appellants' development would be retroactive and manifestly unjust. Appellants voluntarily delayed completion of their development pending a Corps ruling on §404's application t...
The court rules that a claim for damages caused by an allegedly wrongfully issued Army Corps of Engineers dredge and fill cease and desist order must meet the requirements of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), but that a claim for equitable relief may lie under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA...
The court denies defendant generators' motion to dismiss the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's complaint in intervention seeking response cost and natural resources damage recovery under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The court rules that the commonw...
The court in its discretion declines to grant the United States summary judgment on defendant generators' Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §107 counterclaim against a U.S. agency even though defendants have only proved that the agency's wastes were tran...
The court rules that §107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) imposes liability for response costs incurred before promulgation of the National Contingency Plan (NCP), but not prior to enactment of CERCLA. The court rules that CERCLA does not impose...
The court holds that waste fuel oil sludge and biological sludge are not, as a matter of law, excluded from the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act's (CERCLA's) definition of "hazardous substance" simply because, as to the former, CERCLA exempts petroleum, and as to...
The court upholds the Department of Energy's (DOE's) spent Nuclear fuel fee rule, promulgated under §302(a)(3) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA). First, the court holds that it has jurisdiction to review §302 rules, stating that the requirement for circuit court review of rules in §1...
The court rules that the imminent hazard provision in §7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) applies to inactive hazardous waste sites. The court rules that the district court, 13 ELR 20286, erred in limiting §7003 to hazards caused by current human activities. Section 7003's p...