Mealey's ( April 11, 2023, 3:39 PM EDT) -- RICHMOND, Va. — Courts are allowed to consider the circumstances surrounding consent decrees when interpreting them, the majority of a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming a trial court’s order finding that two mining companies failed to comply with a consent decree they entered into with the United States because they let their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits lapse....