U.S. Supreme Court denies review in three closely-watched environmental law cases

The New York Times and Greenwire are reporting that the U.S. Supreme Court has declined the chance to consider several lower court environmental law decisions that have been closely watched by both industry and environmentalists.

The biggest of the three cases involves the question whether farmers must obtain a permit under the federal Clean Water Act to use a pesticide even if they have already gained separate clearance under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.

A federal appeals court in Cincinnati ruled last year that the U.S. government is obliged to require farmers to obtain both authorizations.

Forty members of Congress had urged the Supreme Court to hear the dispute.

In another case, the Supreme Court denied a request that it consider a case challenging the a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate a wildlife refuge in an area of Texas sought by the city of Dallas for water development.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in March 2008 that the agency did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act.

Finally, the Court refused to hear a case in which an agricultural corporation sought compensation under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution for revenue lost when federal officials forced it to destroy, or sell at low prices, eggs suspected of being contaminated with salmonella.

A lower court rejected the farming company's claim that a "regulatory taking" occurred.

A decision by the Supreme Court to decline to review a case, an action technically known as a "denial of certiorari," is not a statement by the Court about its view of the merits of the lower court's opinion.