On July 31, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a ruling affirming the Secretary of Labor’s interpretation of the term ”fire” in the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, and accordingly affirmed a decision of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review…
On July 30, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling affirming the district court’s dismissal of an action brought by the City and County of San Francisco against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and its administering Agency, the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration…
In Organized Village of Kake, et al. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, et al., decided July 29, 2015, an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reinstated the Department of Agriculture’s (Department) 2001 “Roadless Rule”, which limits timber harvesting in the natural forests under…
This is Part VII of VII of a brief recap of some the significant environmental law and administrative cases decided in the past few months: B. Texas State Court of Appeals On June 1, 2015, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District sitting in Amarillo issued a ruling reversing the grant…
This is Part VI of VII of a brief recap of some the significant environmental law and administrative cases decided in the past few months: M. U.S. Court of Federal Claims Wetlands mitigation banking agreements are subject to the rules of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; they can serve a useful…
This is Part V of VII of a brief recap of some the significant environmental law and administrative cases decided in the past few months: K. Tenth Circuit 1. Court of Appeals In an important decision released on May 29, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit rejected the…
State legislation imposing economic conditions that may have an extraterritorial impact outside the state is not, for that reason alone, invalid under the Commerce Clause. Unless the state legislation somehow discriminates in favor of in-state commerce or imposes a significant burden on interstate commerce, it will not be held invalid…
This is Part IV of VII of a brief recap of some the significant environmental law and administrative cases decided in the past few months: J. Ninth Circuit In the case of Association of Irritated Residents v. EPA, et al., decided June 23, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth…
This is Part III of VII of a brief recap of some the significant environmental law and administrative cases decided in the past few months: G. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals On June 2, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided the case of Adkisson v. Jacobs Engineering…
In EME Homer City Generation, L.P., v. EPA, 696 F.3d 7 (2012), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a 2 to 1 decision, vacated the 2011 Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (aka the Transport Rule). The U.S. Supreme Court, on April 29, 2014, reversed the DC…