Contractors authorized by the Forest Service to harvest designated trees in a national forest may be taxed on the value of their possessory interest in the land and timber. This interest derives from the plaintiffs' right to use the federally owned land for commercial purposes and from their ownersh...

The Administrator of EPA need not file an environmental impact statement when determining standards of performance for emission control in sulfuric acid plants and coal-fired steam generaltors under §111 of the Clean Air Act, since properly construed the section requires the functional equivalent o...

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals overturns a district court order directing the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation to remove all waters impounded in the Glen Canyon Dam reservoir from within the boundaries of the Rainbow Bridge National Monument. The court finds that the bridge itself is no...

A declaration of intent by the state Director of the Department of Natural Resources to designate land owned by plaintiffs as part of a Scenic River Area does not violate due process since the property has not been taken and the Director is statutorily prohibited from restricting its use. The law pr...

The Texas "Open Beach Act" mandates the removal of a barrier obstructing public access to a beach on San Luis Pass, the mouth of a tidal bay near Galveston, since the beach is part of the shore of the Gulf of Mexico and as such is protected for public use. The Act provides for a mandatory injunction...

A supplemental environmental assessment which concludes that the construction of a partially completed federal parking garage and detention center in Chicago does not significantly affect the quality of the human environment, is a lawful exercise of the General Services Administration's discretion a...

NEPA requires that the Federal Power Commission prepare either an environmental impact statement or a statement of reasons for considering an impact statement unnecessary when it denies an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the interstate transport of natural gas f...

The court affirms a lower court ruling denying injunctive or declaratory relief against a proposed interstate highway route through land protected by §4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. Plaintiffs failed to show that the route proposed by the government would not minimize en...

A state Environmental Control Act provision allowing the Illinois Pollution Control Board to impose a fine of up to $10,000 for a violation of the Act is held an illegal delegation of judicial power to an administrative agency. The fact that the statute provides for judicial review does not mitigate...

The district court lacks jurisdiction under either the Fourteenth Amendment or §§1981 and 1983 of the Civil Rights Act in a suit to enjoin the operation of a kraft process pulp and paper mill. An invitation from the mayor and City Commission to build the mill, along with a state license for it and...