The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the statutory language and legislative history of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 demonstrate that EPA does not have separate power under §301 of the statute to promulgate by regulation effluent limitations for existing corn ...
In response to various motions to transfer six consolidated petitions for review of the EPA regulations which prohibit significant deterioration of air quality in areas where it exceeds national standards, the court holds that the D.C. Circuit is the "appropriate circuit" to decide these review peti...
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacates a lower court's denial of a preliminary injunction to restrain construction of a bridge over public parkland and remands for further proceedings. Construction of bridge support piers on park property and the presence of the bridge with increased traffic, p...
The court has jurisdiction under the federal common law of nuisance to consider claims for injunctive and declaratory relief against continued pollution of an interstate river through the discharge of inadequately treated sewage from a municipal treatment plant. The Eleventh Amendment bars suit by t...
The Ninth Circuit holds that Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) approval of coal leases of 31,000 acres granted by the Crow Tribe to Westmoreland Resources is a "major federal action" despite the purely fiduciary role of BIA in Indian affairs. Finding that an EIS concerning only the initial 770-acre fiv...
Affirming the district court's dismissal for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the court holds that NEPA does not apply to a project in which the only federal participation is the distribution of revenue sharing funds to aid local communities in financing the project. For th...
A Department of Housing and Urban Development EIS discussing the effects of redevelopment of a three-block area in a city's central business district is adequate, even though it fails to analyze the impact of use of eight additional blocks for parking facilities as proposed in the city council maste...
On defendants' motion to dismiss, a federal district court rules that it has subject matter jurisdiction over a suit to enjoin a state bank from demolishing a building located in an area that has been entered in the National Register of Historic Places pending preparation of a NEPA impact statement ...
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is enjoined from approving an airport layout plan for runway expansion at Logan Airport in Boston pending compliance with its own regulations concerning environmental assessment. Plan approval is a prerequisite to FAA funding for a runway construction projec...
The court upholds the validity of Interior Department regulations severly restricting motorized traffic from traversing the beach of the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Virginia. The United States gained full title and full interest to the refuge beach by condemnation in 1938, and ...