A bill to amend certain provisions of title 28, United States Code, relating to venue, and to provide for special venue provisions in cases relating to the environment.

Summary

Amends the venue provisions of Federal law with respect to environmental litigation. Defines an "action of a local environmental nature" as one which: (1) arises under Federal law pertaining to wildlife, public lands, water rights, or environmental quality; and (2) primarily affects local or regional interests in a judicial district or contiguous districts other than the district in which the action was originally filed. Requires the plaintiff, in any action which may be of a local environmental nature and is brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to forward a copy of the complaint to up to five State attorneys general. Requires a court, upon its own motion or the motion of a party or intervenor, to transfer an action of a local environmental nature to a judicial district where such action might have been brought, unless a party shows: (1) substantial hardship or injustice would result; or (2) the impact of the action is substantially national rather than local in effect or scope. Stipulates that such a transfer is not required if an action of a local environmental nature has a significant impact in the district in which it was originally filed.

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1 official file

• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 6 January 1981

  Open at official source

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