ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
• US Lists Polar Bear as Threatened Species
• Army Corps Says Condition of Many Levees a Mystery
• Decline Seen in Coastal Contamination
• Congress Divided on Energy Plan
• Wind Energy Expected to Grow Dramatically
• McCain Urges Free-Market Principles to Reduce Global Warming
ANIMALS
• Court Orders American Indian to Trial for Shooting Eagle
RECENT CASE SUMMARIES
• Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Rey
• Beazer E., Inc. v. Mead Corp.
• U.S. v. Friday
• Sierra Club v. Flowers
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ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS:
US LISTS POLAR BEAR AS THREATENED SPECIES
(AP) - The U.S Interior Department has decided to protect the polar bear as a threatened species because of the decline in Arctic sea ice from global warming, government officials told The Associated Press. Read more...
Related Resources
• Law Firm Articles on Endangered and Protected Species
ARMY CORPS SAYS CONDITION OF MANY LEVEES A MYSTERY
(AP) - Across America, earthen flood levees protect big cities and small towns, wealthy suburbs and rich farmland. But the Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that oversees levees, lacks an inventory of thousands of them and has no idea of their condition, the corps' chief levee expert told The Associated Press. Read more...
Related Resources
• FindLaw's List of Resources for the US Army
DECLINE SEEN IN COASTAL CONTAMINATION
(AP) - Contamination of the nation's coastal waters is declining, the government said Monday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said levels of the pesticide DDT and industrial contaminants such as PCBs are declining. Read more...
Related Resources
• Research Environmental Investigators
CONGRESS DIVIDED ON ENERGY PLAN
(AP) - As millions of people approach the summer vacation season under the threat of $4-per-gallon gasoline, Congress is scrambling to respond. But don't wait for anything that will drive down prices at the pump. Read more...
Related Resources
• Resources for Energy Law
WIND ENERGY EXPECTED TO GROW DRAMATICALLY
(AP) - An Energy Department report concludes that wind turbines can produce a fifth of the nation's annual electricity needs within about two decades. That is about the same share of electricity produced today by nuclear power. Read more...
Related Resources
• FindLaw Corporate Counsel Center - Environmental
MCCAIN URGES FREE-MARKET PRINCIPLES TO REDUCE GLOBAL WARMING
(AP) - Republican John McCain, reaching out to both independents and green-minded social conservatives, argues that global warming is undeniable and the country must take steps to bring it under control while adhering to free-market principles. Read more...
Related Resources
• FindLaw Message Boards - Environmental Law
ANIMALS:
COURT ORDERS AMERICAN INDIAN TO TRIAL FOR SHOOTING EAGLE
(AP) - An American Indian who shot a bald eagle for use in a tribal religious ceremony must stand trial, a federal appeals court has ruled. Read more...
Related Resources
• Indian and Native Peoples Law Attorneys, Lawyers and Law Firms
RECENT CASE SUMMARIES:
CTR. FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY V. REY
(U.S. 9th Circuit) - In a suit challenging a decision by the United States Forest Service to permit logging in accordance with certain changes made in 2004 by the USFS in the relevant forest, denial of a preliminary injunction against the USFS is reversed and three projects preliminarily enjoined where the district court abused its discretion in: 1) concluding that the USFS complied with NEPA's requirement to "[r]igorously explore and objectively evaluate all reasonable alternatives" with regard to a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS); and 2) in its balancing of equities. Read more...
BEAZER E., INC. V. MEAD CORP.
(U.S. 3rd Circuit) - In an on-going contribution claim against defendant under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), wherein the district court denied defendant's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and certified the question of whether certain caselaw precedent limited subject-matter jurisdiction over plaintiff's contribution claims under section 113(f)(1), the circuit court finds that: 1) the "civil action" requirement in section 113(f) is an element of the claim, and is not jurisdictional; 2) the district court retained its original jurisdiction to adjudicate the issues in this case; and 3) defendant waived its challenge to the applicability of section 113(f)(1). Read more...
U.S. V. FRIDAY
(U.S. 10th Circuit) - In a prosecution against a member of a Native American tribe for shooting an eagle without a permit in contravention of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), dismissal of the indictment based on a Religious Freedom Restoration Act challenge is reversed and remanded for trial where the Eagle Act and its regulations are the least restrictive means of pursuing the government's compelling interest in preserving the bald eagle. Read more...
SIERRA CLUB V. FLOWERS
(U.S. 11th Circuit) - In an action challenging a grant of certain "Clean Water Act" ("CWA") mining permits by the Army Corps of Engineers in Florida, summary judgment for plaintiffs is vacated and remanded where the district court: 1) appeared to have predetermined the answer to the ultimate issue based on its own conclusions that mining in the area at issue was a bad thing; 2) analyzed the permitting process with that answer in mind regardless of what the agency concluded and what evidence supported the agency's conclusion; and 3) therefore applied the improper standard of review under the Administrative Procedure Act. Read more...
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