The Wisconsin Supreme Court holds that state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regulations pertaining to thermal standards for lakes and streams are effluent limitations rather than water quality standards and are thus invalid under state law by being inapplicable to the power plants in question...

The Supreme Court affirms in part and vacates and remands in part a state court's issuance of permanent injunctions against unauthorized use of navigable canals constructed on private property with private funds. The Court's accompanying decision in Kaiser Aetna v. United States, 10 ELR 20042, estab...

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms a lower court's grant of summary judgment in a suit challenging the adequacy of an environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared in connection with the proposed construction of an interstate highway segment between Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, Iowa. The proj...

The court upholds the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) approval of South Dakota's action, as part of its revised water quality standards, designating as a cold water permanent fishery, the creek into which plaintiff indirectly discharges mining wastes. The statutory language and purposes as...

In a per curiam order, the Supreme Court reverses the decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Karlen v. Harris, 9 ELR 20001. At issue was a plan by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to redesignate a site in New York City for a proposed low-income housing project. The C...

The court dismisses as not within its limited jurisdiction under the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Act (ANGTA) petitions by the State of Alaska and an Alaskan energy company to review an order of the Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) setting design specifications and initial capacity for the A...

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirms a lower court decision refusing to issue a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Secretary of the Interior from conducting further lease sales for oil and exploration on the outer continental shelf until regulations implementing a fu...

The court declares that portions of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), ELR Stat. & Reg. 42401, including provisions restricting steep-slope coal mining, violate the Fifth and Tenth Amendments and permanently enjoins their enforcement. The court first declines to rule on the ...

The court denies a motion to require a nonprofit organization to post a security bond for a preliminary injunction. Previously, the court had preliminarily enjoined demolition of a historic mansion as part of an urban renewal project and required the federal Department of Housing and Urban Developme...

The court preliminarily enjoins further construction near and related to a regional airport pending preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Three federal agencies have or are about to grant funds for different parts of the work...