Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society et al.

Decided May 12, 1975. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 73-1977 · 421 U.S. 240 (1975) · Cited 4,586 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Mills v. Electric Auto-Lite Co. · 396 U.S. 375 (1970)
• Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc. · 390 U.S. 400 (1968)
• Hall v. Cole · 412 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Sprague v. Ticonic National Bank · 307 U.S. 161 (1939)
• F. D. Rich Co. v. United States Ex Rel. Industrial Lumber Co. · 417 U.S. 116 (1974)
• Trustees v. Greenough · 105 U.S. 527 (1882)
• Fleischmann Distilling Corp. v. Maier Brewing Co. · 386 U.S. 714 (1967)
• The Baltimore · 75 U.S. 377 (1869)
• Bradley v. School Bd. of Richmond · 416 U.S. 696 (1974)
• Vaughan v. Atkinson · 369 U.S. 527 (1962)
• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)
• Hecht Co. v. Bowles · 321 U.S. 321 (1944)
• Toledo Scale Co. v. Computing Scale Co. · 261 U.S. 399 (1923)
• Universal Oil Products Co. v. Root Refining Co. · 328 U.S. 575 (1946)
• Arcambel v. Wiseman · 3 U.S. 306 (1796)
• Tidewater Oil Co. v. United States · 409 U.S. 151 (1972)
• People of Sioux County v. National Surety Co. · 276 U.S. 238 (1928)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Hanna v. Plumer · 380 U.S. 460 (1965)
• Hawaii v. Standard Oil Co. of Cal. · 405 U.S. 251 (1972)
• Northcross v. Memphis Board of Education · 412 U.S. 427 (1973)
• Day v. Woodworth · 54 U.S. 363 (1852)
• Stewart v. Sonneborn · 98 U.S. 187 (1879)
• Oelrichs v. Spain · 82 U.S. 211 (1872)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Chambers v. Nasco, Inc. · 501 U.S. 32 (1991)
• Crawford Fitting Co. v. J. T. Gibbons, Inc. · 482 U.S. 437 (1987)
• Marek v. Chesny · 473 U.S. 1 (1985)
• Boeing Co. v. Van Gemert · 444 U.S. 472 (1980)
• Lackey v. Stinnie · 604 U.S. 192 (2025)
• Ruckelshaus v. Sierra Club · 463 U.S. 680 (1983)
• Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan, Ltd. · 566 U.S. 560 (2012)
• Peter v. NantKwest, Inc. · 589 U.S. 23 (2019)
• Roadway Express, Inc. v. Piper · 447 U.S. 752 (1980)
• Hutto v. Finney · 437 U.S. 678 (1978)
• West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. v. Casey · 499 U.S. 83 (1991)
• Hensley v. Eckerhart · 461 U.S. 424 (1983)
• Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Dept. of Health and Human Resources · 532 U.S. 598 (2001)
• Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc. · 586 U.S. 334 (2019)
• Pennsylvania v. Delaware Valley Citizens' Council for Clean Air · 478 U.S. 546 (1986)
• Runyon v. McCrary · 427 U.S. 160 (1976)
• Business Guides, Inc. v. Chromatic Communications Enterprises, Inc. · 498 U.S. 533 (1991)
• Evans v. Jeff D. Ex Rel. Johnson · 475 U.S. 717 (1986)
• Independent Federation of Flight Attendants v. Zipes · 491 U.S. 754 (1989)
• Christiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 434 U.S. 412 (1978)
• Key Tronic Corp. v. United States · 511 U.S. 809 (1994)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• Smith v. Robinson · 468 U.S. 992 (1984)
• Norfolk & Western Railway Co. v. Liepelt · 444 U.S. 490 (1980)
• Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. August · 450 U.S. 346 (1981)
• North Carolina Department of Transportation v. Crest Street Community Council, Inc. · 479 U.S. 6 (1986)
• Summit Valley Industries, Inc. v. Local 112, United Brotherhood of Carpenters · 456 U.S. 717 (1982)
• Blum v. Stenson · 465 U.S. 886 (1984)
• Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp. · 496 U.S. 384 (1990)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).