The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not unreasonably delayed rulemaking to consider whether to add strip mines to the list of pollutant sources subject to fugitive emissions regulation under the Clean Air Act's prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) program. The...

The court holds that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it issued a permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) authorizing scientific research on killer whales in Puget Sound without preparing an environmental assessment ...

The court holds that Clean Air Act §118 waives federal agencies' sovereign immunity from civil penalties for violations of Ohio air pollution regulations, and Ohio has properly stated a claim upon which relief can be granted. Clean Air Act §118 makes federal agencies subject to state requirements,...

The court rules that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has discretion under Clean Air Act §176(a) to decline to initiate proceedings to terminate federal highway funds in the event of a state's failure to submit an adequate state implementation plan (SIP) if EPA finds that the state is maki...

The court summarily rejects various motions to dismiss in an action brought by the United States for injunctive relief and recovery of cleanup costs under §§106 and 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and §7003 of the Resource Conservation and...

The court awards attorney fees to plaintiffs under the Clean Air Act for their challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) failure to issue emission standards for radionuclides, and applies a multiplier of two for the exceptional quality of counsel's work, contingency, and the undesir...

The court upholds the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) cotton dust regulations requiring medical surveillance of workers and establishing an effectiveness rating for disposable respirators. The court first rules that under Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO v. American Petr...

The court holds that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) "backfitting" rule violates the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) by improperly allowing the consideration of economic costs. The term "backfitting" refers to modifications of design, equipment, or operating procedures of previously licensed nuc...

The court holds that the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to evaluate the cumulative environmental impacts of placer mining on subsistence uses when it prepares an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the impacts of mining on en...

The court modifies several injunctions entered pursuant to its earlier decision, 17 ELR 21254, in which it held that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) must prepare an environmental impact statement on the cumulative impacts of placer mining in certain national wild river watersheds and, in some in...