The Supreme Court rules that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) does not require federal agencies to prepare environmental impact statements (EISs) to accompany appropriations requests. Unanimously reversing a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circ...

The court grants defendants' motion for summary judgment in a suit challenging the legality of regulations issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 insofar as they prohibit importation of all green sea trutle products ...

The court upholds the district court's denial of a motion by supporters of an Illinois highway and bridge construction project to intervene as defendants in a suit to enjoin the project. The plaintiffs alleged that defendants violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal-Aid Highway Ac...

The court upholds the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) inclusion of mining waste in the category of solid waste in regulations promulgated pursuant to §§1008(a)(3) and 4004(a) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The court first holds that EPA acted reasonably in includin...

The court rejects Warren County, North Carolina's federal and state law challenges to decisions of the state to use, and of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve the sue of, a parcel of land in the county as a disposal site for soil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). ...

The court upholds a penalty imposed for violation of a visual opacity standard even though appellant did not violate the companion particulate standard. It rejects appellant's argument that the visual opacity test creates only a presumption of illegal pollution subject to rebuttal proof that actual ...

The court affirms a zoning board's denial of a permit to construct a coal tipple on appellant's industrial-zoned property. After an appeal by a citizens group, the zoning board rescinded the building permit, finding that appellant could not meet zoning ordinance performance standards governing dust,...

The court affirms the district court's approval of an order by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) closing two corridors in the Imperial Sand Dunes to use by off-road vehicles (ORVs). It holds that closure of the corridors on grounds of ORV destructiveness to plant life was supported by substantial ...

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin rules that the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act (WEPA), WIS. STAT. §1.11, applies to the promulgation of building codes but not to individual code compliance reviews. Appellant approved as consistent with the code plans for a 250,000-gallon holding tank in Door Coun...

The Colorado Court of Appeals rules that the Colorado Air Pollution Control Commission was without authority to adopt a regulation making compliance with ambient air quality standards a condition to the continued validity of permits to operate electric power generation plants. Initially, the court r...