51 results for 'cat:"Environment" AND cat:"Government"'.
J. Andrews finds a lower court properly dismissed a local resident's objections to a proposed development. The local resident argued that the housing and community authority forged development plans for a crematorium and ceremony hall in a Green Belt, which violates the Town and Country Planning Act of 1990 based on its location in a flood risk zone. However, the planning committee sufficiently showed court that it followed a site- specific flood risk assessment drawn up by a structural engineer company, which determined that the land is not a flood risk.
Court: Her Majesty's Court of Appeal, Judge: Andrews, Filed On: May 10, 2024, Case #: CA-2023-388, Categories: Construction, environment, government
J. Ezra partially grants Texas’ motion to dismiss after the federal government sued the state and Governor Greg Abbott over its “buoy barrier” in the Rio Grande, which was installed in the national water boundary “without any federal authorization.” While the United States can proceed with claims under the federal Rivers and Harbors Act, it cannot pursue claims based on the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo because the treaty is “not self-executing” and does not “provide any specific standard or rule of decision for a domestic court to follow.” Nonetheless, while Texas has asserted that it has “territorial rights” to protect itself from a migrant “invasion,” “the Founding Fathers conceptualized invasions as a part of war” and not due to migration.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Ezra, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv853, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: environment, government, Immigration
J. Eyester denies the contractor's claim for price increases. Contracted for tree removal, pruning and roadside trimming at Lake O’ the Pines, Texas, the contractor claims the Army Corps of Engineers misclassified certain services causing a $7,117 increase in performance. While certain pruning services were removed from the contract and tree removal was increased due to a deep freeze, this does not establish a prior course of dealing eliminating performance on other task orders. There is no prior course of dealing evidencing the waiver of performance.
Court: Armed Services Board Of Contract Appeals, Judge: Eyester, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 63768, Categories: environment, government, Contract
J. Aiken denies the government's motion to stay proceedings while its writ of mandamus is pending in the 9th Circuit. The young activists claim that the government knowingly destabilized the Oregon population's climate system by approving of the Jordan Cove Liquified Natural Gas Terminal in Coos Bay, which became the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in Oregon. The government and others repeatedly delayed the case from entering the evidentiary phase for almost 10 years, and they do not identify any new issues that would justify a further stay or convince this court that the 9th Circuit is likely to grant the petition for mandamus.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Aiken, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 6:15cv1517, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, environment, government
J. Eddins finds that proceedings initiated by a state agency are not sheltered by sovereign immunity, and grants attorney fees to groups defending a frivolous petition filed by the state them. The court deems frivolous the board’s petition, which claims that an environmental group winning a prior case that capped water diversions from a Maui river prevented water from being used to battle the Lahaina wildfires. “It seems that the BLNR tried to leverage the most horrific event in state history to advance its interests.” Despite many sources, including Maui county itself, establishing that water availability from the river had nothing to do with containing the fires, the board refused to withdraw its petition and forced the environmental group to participate in further proceedings. Sovereign immunity is waived when state agencies initiate original actions, therefore the board is subject to the environmental group’s attorney fees.
Court: Hawai'i Supreme Court, Judge: Eddins, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: SCPW-23-471, Categories: environment, government, Attorney Fees
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J. Hiraoka finds an environmental court properly determined that the conservation group was not entitled to a contested case hearing over the renewal of permits to divert water from a Maui river. The group did not have a constitutionally protected property interest in the permits based on rights to a clean and healthful environment. The permits do comply with environmental regulations and governmental interest in the providing water to its communities overweighs the need for a contested case hearing. However, when the permits were continued, the environmental court should not have modified the conditions to limit stream diversions as the board should have authority over modifications. Affirmed.
Court: Hawai'i Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hiraoka, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: CAAP-22-516, Categories: environment, government, Water
J. Reiber finds that the environmental court improperly denied the town’s request for reconsideration in this interlocutory appeal. The town argues the tolling provisions do not apply in municipal panel appeals and the request was not filed with the court making it not formal. The appeals court is unpersuaded tolling under judicial economy is required. Accordingly, the claims are remanded for lack of jurisdiction and the environmental court was untimely. Reversed.
Court: Vermont Supreme Court, Judge: Reiber, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: 23-AP-247, Categories: environment, government, Jurisdiction
J. Kobayashi remands to state court a case brought by families against their landlords that evicted them from their homes after their water was contaminated by the U.S. Navy’s jet fuel leak. Despite the landlord’s relationship with the military under residential agreements, the landlords themselves are not military and therefore do not fall under federal jurisdiction. Bringing in the U.S. as a third-party defendant does not grant jurisdiction because “a defendant may not create subject-matter jurisdiction by filing a third-party complaint — that is not a voluntary act by plaintiff.”
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv588, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: environment, government, Landlord Tenant
J. Lindbom finds a lower court properly dismissed an energy company's "unfairly distorted" ruling in favor of the secretary of State for energy security and net zero concerning a proposed development of two offshore windfarms. The energy company argued that the proposed development was in the interest of the public. However, the government's impact environmental assessment showed that the majority of nearby landowners objected to the development and that the project would be detrimental to nearby habitats, cultural heritage, and landscapes.
Court: Her Majesty's Court of Appeal, Judge: Lindblom, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: CA-2023-1527, Categories: Construction, environment, government
J. Cain denies a request by Louisiana and other energy-producing states to halt the Biden administration’s implementation of a 2023 rule of the Clean Water Act that expands states’ responsibility for enforcement of environmental regulations. Litigant states argue the rule is unlawful and will be expensive for states to enforce. It is in the public interest to allow the rule to remain in effect pending a review of the merits of the states’ suit against the EPA.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv01714, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Energy, environment, government
J. Dever grants partial summary judgment to the daughter of a deceased military colonel who qualifies as the colonel’s legal representative under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. The federal government fails to sufficiently claim that there is a genuine triable issue about whether the daughter qualifies as a legal representative, and, thereby, has the right to sue under the Act.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: February 27, 2024, Case #: 7:23cv897, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: environment, government, Tort
J. O’Rourke finds that the trial court improperly denied the property developer’s request for a writ of mandate requesting the county board of supervisors’ decision granting the administrative appeals, requiring the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report directing them to affirm the zoning administrator’s guidelines. The trial court found the staff agreed that the project qualified for an exemption under the guidelines, stating it was “inconsistent with the existing record.” This court directs the trial court to grant the petition and issue a peremptory writ of mandate. The county must set aside its decision requiring the preparation of an EIR, and the property developers shall recover its costs for this appeal. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: O’Rourke, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: D081124, Categories: environment, government, Property
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the court of appeals finds the trial court properly granted summary judgment and rendered a final judgment in favor of the state against the environmental groups. The 2015-2016 challenged appropriations had already been disbursed by being spent, contractually obligation or reverted to Florida’s Land Acquisition Trust Fund. Since those appropriations were completed within the fiscal year, the active complaint claims were moot. Affirmed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 1D2022-3142, Categories: environment, government
J. Newman grants the agricultural waste companies' motion for summary judgment, ruling the citizen suit under the Clean Air Act is barred by the diligent prosecution doctrine. The EPA has taken reasonable steps to ensure the companies' compliance with air quality standards, including shutting down portions of their plant through enforcement of a consent decree that contains civil fines for noncompliance.
Court: USDC Southern District of Ohio, Judge: Newman, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv102, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Procedure, environment, government
J. Kleeh grants the regulatory agency's motion for summary judgment in the company's complaint alleging the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) denied its application for an incidental taking permit to harvest timber by keeping the application in "perpetual administrative limbo." Based on the administrative record as a whole, the company is largely to blame for the permit being in limbo since it stopped cooperating with FWS on developing a habitat conservation plan, which is the second part of the four phases required to receive permit approval.
Court: USDC Northern District of West Virginia, Judge: Kleeh, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv7, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: Administrative Law, environment, government
J. Bury grants the Center for Biological Diversity's motion for summary judgment against the Environmental Protection Agency. The Center for Biological Diversity sufficiently showed in court that the EPA violated the notice and comment mandates for issuing “new use” pesticide registrations for OTT dicamba for cotton and soybean crops. The court vacates the 2020 registrations for XtendiMax, Enginia, and Tavium.
Court: USDC Arizona, Judge: Bury, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 4:20cv555, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: environment, government, Negligence
J. Jackson grants summary judgment to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, upholding the agency’s 2014 decision to remove the Louisiana Black Bear from a list of endangered species after determining that its population had recovered from the threat of agricultural land clearing efforts in the early 1990s. The Service’s decision to delist the Louisiana Black Bear was lawful and not arbitrary or capricious, as litigant-nonprofit organizations alleged. The Service’s conclusions about the viability of the current Black Bear population were “based on its reasonable assessment of the best available scientific evidence.”
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: January 29, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv651, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: environment, Evidence, government
J. Morgan grants a request by parish residents, ordering operators of a landfill to produce hundreds of documents without redactions for their suit alleging the dump fouled the air in their area from 2017 to 2019. Lawyers for the landfill argued with limited success that they properly withheld the records under attorney-client privilege doctrines. The requested records pertained to work the landfill operators performed during the ordinary course of business, rather than in anticipation of litigation, as attorneys for the dump unsuccessfully argued.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Morgan, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 2:18cv7889, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: Communications, environment, government
J. Cain grants a request for a preliminary injunction, barring the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice from enforcing any disparate impact mandates under Title VI laws against racial discrimination. The state of Louisiana has established an injury and, therefore, has standing to challenge the extra-regulatory requirements the EPA is imposing upon the state.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv692, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Rights, environment, government
J. Bastian finds in favor of the U.S. Forest Service against the conservation organization's complaint that the agency wrongfully authorized the Twisp Restoration Project, violating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by not properly informing the public about the project and not allowing meaningful public participation. The final environmental assessment fits with NEPA's requirements, because it identifies specific prescriptions for each authorized activity by disclosing the project area and where the project area vegetation treatment would be, and it details what to do if ground conditions differ from the expected conditions.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Washington, Judge: Bastian, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv293, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: environment, government
J. Ginoza finds the lower court properly dismissed most of a Hawaii community group’s allegations against the development of a large sports complex, but should not have dismissed others to the extent that they adequately challenged the validity of a special use permit. The community group did not exhaust administrative remedies for the approval for the permit, so the court lacks jurisdiction over a majority of the counts. Regarding counts challenging the project’s environmental impact, insofar as the claims seek relief other than invalidating the permit, they should not have been dismissed because they reasonably question if the supplemental impact statement suffices as an environmental impact statement. Affirmed in part.
Court: Hawai'i Court Of Appeals, Judge: Ginoza, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: CAAP-16-444, Categories: environment, government, Zoning
J. Bell rules in favor of a glue manufacturer that sued a group of companies responsible for transporting and treating its wastewater, the disposal of which cost more than $7 million because the sued companies failed to properly deal with it. The manufacturer contracted with companies to treat and dispose of several thousand 275-gallon totes of the wastewater, but one of the companies did not do so and stored the totes on another’s property. The problem was left to fester until state and federal environmental authorities intervened and tested the water, which was found to contain toxic chemicals. The manufacturer had led all parties to believe the water was non-toxic, and thus, bears the burden of paying most of the $7 million needed by the EPA to dispose of the water properly. The companies in question and associated individuals have also expressed their inability to pay large costs and will be responsible to pay a total of over $576,000 toward the EPA’s balance.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: December 15, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv69, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: environment, government, Contract
J. Mansfield declines to sanction the government for the loss of text messages from two Navy captains regarding the water contamination by jet fuel from the military’s Red Hill storage facility. The text message evidence as to when the military knew of the contamination was lost in a reset of the phones prior to the litigation, but can be recovered from other parties, which the government has taken steps to preserve and hand over to those affected by the leak. There is no proof that key text messages about the contamination between the two captains of different commands exist and that the loss was anything but inadvertent.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mansfield, Filed On: December 14, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv397, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: environment, Evidence, government
J. Lemelle grants remand to the state of Louisiana and two parish governments, ordering various oil and gas industry producers and refiners to face joint claims their production activities resulted in pollution and subsequent wetland loss along Louisiana’s coastline. The oil and gas companies failed to establish they are entitled to federal-officer jurisdiction, as they do not show the complained-of production actions were associated with or connected to a federal officer.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Lemelle, Filed On: December 13, 2023, Case #: 2:18cv5213, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Energy, environment, government
J. Boyle grants the federal government’s motion to strike 10 of 14 affirmative defenses presented by a seafood business owner who allegedly constructed retaining walls without permits in areas protected by the Clean Water Act. Because the government is seeking a civil penalty and injunction for the violation, not damages, it is not subject to defenses the owner uses here, such as estoppel, laches and unclean hands. Other of his defenses are inadequately pleaded.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv1, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: environment, government, Maritime
J. Du grants the government’s motion to dismiss this suit brought by the Indian Tribes seeking to block construction of a lithium mine near Thacker Pass, Nevada. The tribes say that a certain clause in the plan of operations shows that the Bureau of Land Management authorized violations by not terminating the mining company’s prior permits when its record of decision was issued, which is not plausible. Without any violation of the plan, the land management claim is implausible, though the tribes are granted leave to amend.
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Du, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv70, NOS: Administrative Procedure Act/Review or Appeal of Agency Decision - Other Suits, Categories: environment, government, Native Americans