Smith Lake Improvement and Stakeholders Association v. FERC, et al.

Smith Lake Improvement and Stakeholders Association v. FERC, et al. - In the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, Case No. 13-1074. The Panel said, "Petitioner Smith Lake Improvement and Stakeholder Association asserts various claims against Respondents FERC, the Secretary of Interior, and the Secretary of Agriculture relating to the Commission's issuance of a license order. Intervenor Alabama Power moved to dismiss the Association's petition for review on the ground that we lack jurisdiction because the appeal was untimely. We agree and grant the motion."

USA v. NCR Corporation

USA v. NCR Corporation - 9/25/14. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, Case No. 13-2441 & 13-2447. Two decisions related to the cleanup of the Lower Fox River and Green Bay Su-perfund Site in northeastern Wisconsin. The Panel said, "We have deconsolidated the appeals of two PRPs, and we will resolve only the appeals of NCR and Glatfelter in this opinion. . . The district court's summary judgment rulings on the propriety of the remedy and Glatfelter's liability are AFFIRMED. The permanent injunction entered by the district court is VACATED. The declaratory judgment entered by the district court is AFFIRMED as to Glatfelter, but VACATED as to NCR, and Case No. 13-2441 is REMANDED for the district court to reconsider NCR's divisibility defense consistent with this opinion. Circuit Rule 36 shall not apply on remand."

Friends of the Wild Swan v. Weber

Friends of the Wild Swan v. Weber - 9/24/14. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Case Nos. 13-35817 & 13-35819. The panel affirmed the district court's denial of two preliminary injunctions in plaintiff environmental groups' challenges to the United States Forest Service's approval of two neighboring logging projects in Montana's Flathead National Forest.

The Boeing Company v. Movassaghi

The Boeing Company v. Movassaghi - 9/19/14. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Case No. 11-55903. The Panel ruled, "We affirm the district court's decision that a California law governing cleanup of a federal nuclear site violates the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity."

Electric Power Supply Asso. v. FERC

Full D.C. Circuit Denies Petitions to Reconsider Divided Panel Decision Overturning Vital Clean Energy Protections - In a setback for efforts to ensure clean energy resources are properly incentivized in the nation's electricity markets, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declined, today, to grant rehearing of its May 23, 2014 divided 2-1 panel decision vacating Order 745 of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

• Electric Power Supply Asso. v. FERC - 5/23/14. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, Case Nos. 11-1486, Consolidated with 11-1489, 12-1088, 12-1091, 12-1093.

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New York State Elec. & Gas Corp. v. First Energy Corp.

New York State Elec. & Gas Corp. v. First Energy Corp. - 9/11/14. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, Case Nos. 11-4143, 11-4146, 11-4149. The district court held the corporate successor to plaintiff's former parent company liable for a portion of the costs on a veil-piercing theory, and it held the current owner of one site liable for a portion of the costs as well. The Appeals Court affirmed and vacated in part, but said, "We find that the district court did not abuse its discretion in allocating the response costs.  The district court reasonably took into account the fact that I.D. Booth would benefit from the increased property value after remediation and that its negotiating tactics led to significant delays in remediating the property."

 

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MEIC v. Stone-Manning

MEIC v. Stone-Manning - 9/11/14. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Case No. 13-35107. The panel affirmed the dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction of a citizen suit claiming that the Director of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality would violate duties imposed by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act by approving a pending application for a mining permit.

 

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Alaska Cmty. Action v. Aurora

Alaska Cmty. Action v. Aurora - 9/3/14. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Case No. 13-35709. The Panel reversed, remanded and held that the district court erred in concluding that the Multi-Sector General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity - a general permit under EPA's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System - shielded the defendants from liability under the Clean Water Act for their non-stormwater coal discharges. 

Organized Village of Kake v. USDA

Court to Reconsider Decision on Roadless Areas of Alaska's Tongass National Forest - 8/29/14. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit announced that it would rehear a case "en banc" (before a new 11-judge panel) challenging the Tongass exemption from the Roadless Rule, a landmark conservation rule adopted in 2001 to protect nearly 60 million acres of wild national forests and grasslands from new road building and logging.

• Organized Village of Kake v. USDA - 3/26/14. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Case No. 11-35517.