The court holds that the drawdown by a Tennessee agency of the water level of a lake on state land leased to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and maintained as a national wildlife refuge is a major federal action requiring preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS). The ...

The court holds that the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) may assess a reclamation fee on coal produced in the United States based on the gross weight of coal prior to sale, even though the material taxed includes impurities, such as water, attributable to the post-extraction process. The court first ...

The court holds that consumer organizations that promote energy conservation have standing on behalf of their members to challenge the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) issuance of fuel economy standards for light trucks, and NHTSA may consider shifts in consumer demand when s...

The court holds that regulations adopted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that eliminate case-by-case review of the financial qualifications of electric utilities seeking operating licenses are authorized by the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) and are not arbitrary and capricious. The new rule mak...

The court holds that the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act (SWMA) authorizes warrantless searches of solid waste facilities, but the Act violates the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution since it does not establish adequate standards outlining the circumstances under which a warr...

The court holds that a district court lacked jurisdiction to hold that a regulation issued under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act exceeded the Secretary of the Interior's statutory authority, since this constitutes an attack on the validity of the regulation that must be brought in the...

In a per curiam order, the court reverses the decision of the Commonwealth Court holding that a warrantless inspection of a hazardous waste facility violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and remands the case to the lower court in light of its recent ruling in Commonwealth v...

The court holds that the United States and not California has title to land exposed as a result of the recession of Mono Lake. Approximately 12,000 acres of lake bed has been exposed during the 45 years that the city of Los Angeles has been diverting water from the lake's feeder streams to help supp...

The court holds that the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to object to a state-issued national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit and to assume permitting authority for that discharger. The court first holds that EPA ...

The court holds that Texas statutes requiring Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emission control certification and approval prior to titling of imported "gray market" automobiles are preempted by §209 of the Clean Air Act, but are not preempted by the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety A...