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Mealey's Pollution Liability

  • December 20, 2024

    Splintered 5th Circuit Affirms $14.25M CAA Penalty Against Exxon

    NEW ORLEANS — A splintered en banc Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals narrowly affirmed a $14.25 million penalty against ExxonMobil Corp. for air pollution violations at a Texas facility with only one judge expressly agreeing with the decision and others offering varying responses ranging from a concurrence seeking a higher penalty to dissents challenging standing and other factors.

  • December 17, 2024

    Plaintiffs Challenge Jurisdiction In Dismissal Of Drinking Water Case Claims

    FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A group of plaintiffs asserting claims of personal injury from exposure to trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, benzene and other chemicals in their drinking water have asked a federal judge in Indiana to alter or amend an opinion and order dismissing three claims for relief, stating that there is no subject matter jurisdiction because the judge concluded that the plaintiffs lack standing.

  • December 17, 2024

    Oklahoma, Poultry Companies Compromise On Expert In Long-Running Pollution Case

    TULSA, Okla. — After an Oklahoma federal judge denied a motion to postpone an evidentiary hearing in a long-running case regarding pollution and degradation of waters in the Illinois River Watershed (IRW) by Tyson Foods Inc. and other Arkansas-based poultry plant operators, the parties stipulated to allowing a report from state expert witness Katie Mendoza to be accepted as evidentiary proffer in upcoming proceedings on potential injunctive relief and prudential mootness.

  • December 13, 2024

    High Court Partially Grants Liquid Fuel Industry’s Emissions Standards Petition

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 13 partially granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a group of private parties representing the liquid fuel industry and left pending a second petition by 17 states led by Ohio, both filed in a dispute over whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to waive new Clean Air Act (CAA) standards for automobile emissions as they apply to California.

  • December 13, 2024

    9th Circuit Affirms Storage Of Train Cars Subject To CAA, EPRCA, $850K Penalty

    SPOKANE, Wash. — A federal judge in Washington did not abuse his discretion when imposing an $850,000 penalty on an anhydrous ammonia supplier and requiring the company’s compliance under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) for storing train cars carrying a regulated hazardous substance at its Othello facility, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled in an unpublished memorandum opinion.

  • December 12, 2024

    Texas Sues PFAS Makers For Profiting ‘Immensely’ Through Deceptive Trade Practices

    CLEBURNE, Texas — Texas sued 3M Co. and other makers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in state court on Dec. 11, arguing that they manufactured and marketed consumer products that contain PFAS and “profited immensely” while they knew that the products posed risks to human health and the environment.

  • December 11, 2024

    Judge: PFAS Defendant Must Produce Witness To Address Corporate Events After 2002

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge in South Carolina on Dec. 10 issued an order pertaining to all cases in the multidistrict litigation for the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), directing one of the defendants in the case to prepare and produce a witness to speak for the corporation pursuant to a notice of deposition under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6) on events that took place after 2002.

  • December 11, 2024

    Precedents, Prematurity Argued In EPA Opposition To Supreme Court CAA Petition

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and intervening states are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a petition for a writ of certiorari that four other states filed asking the court to determine whether the Clean Air Act (CAA) allows for remand to the EPA to supplement the administrative record with new details after a rule is promulgated in reference to establishment of implementation plans for attaining ozone air quality standards, stating that review would be premature and a departure from the high court’s usual practice.

  • December 10, 2024

    EPA Finalizes Rules That Ban Toxic Chemical Solvents, Require Worker Protections

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized risk management rules that ban use of the toxic chemicals trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) and require worker protections under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

  • December 09, 2024

    Operator Closing Tacoma Manufacturing Facility By Year-End Per Consent Decree

    TACOMA, Wash. — A Washington metal manufacturing facility will close by the end of the year pursuant to a consent decree between the operator and a grassroots environmental organization following allegations of violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharging pollutants into the Port of Tacoma.

  • December 06, 2024

    N.Y. Magistrate Judge Grants Motion To Seal Documents In Canal Pollution Case

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A federal magistrate judge in New York has granted a motion to seal on an interim basis an answer and counterclaims filed by one of roughly 40 defendants sued under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for allegedly releasing hazardous substances into the Gowanus Canal, citing preservation of confidential materials.

  • December 06, 2024

    Residents Say 3M Is Liable For ‘Wanton’ Conduct That Tainted Water With PFAS

    MADISON, Wis. — Residents have filed a putative class action against 3M Co. in Wisconsin federal court seeking punitive damages for groundwater contamination they say is the result of  “willful, wanton, malicious, and/or reckless conduct” in connection with 3M’s operation of a quarry and a facility where roofing shingles containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been created and disposed of for decades.

  • December 04, 2024

    NRC, Contractor Point Out Errors In Texas Nuclear Waste Storage Licensing Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and a government contractor seeking to store spent nuclear fuel at a facility in west Texas argue in a pair of U.S. Supreme Court petitioner briefs that the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred in its interpretation of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) and elements of the Hobbs Act when it ruled that the NRC improperly approved a license for the project.

  • December 03, 2024

    Calif. Gas Station Owner Owes $2.3M In Attorney Fees For CERCLA, RCRA Violations

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A federal judge in California has awarded more than $2.3 million in costs and attorney fees to the owner of an apartment building that filed suit under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) against a neighboring gas station over the release of hazardous substances that migrated onto its property.

  • December 02, 2024

    Deadlines For Remand Filings Set In Exxon Single-Use Plastics Pollution Cases

    SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California has set a filing and briefing schedule for motions to remand state court two related cases against Exxon Mobil Corp. that accuse the company of creating a public nuisance and violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and a barrage of state pollution laws by manufacturing single-use plastics that it allegedly misrepresented as recyclable while annually earning billions dollars from sales.

  • November 27, 2024

    9th Circuit’s Jurisdiction Debated In California Clean Water Act Case Fee Denial

    SAN FRANCISCO — An environmental organization granted interim attorney fees after suing two California cities under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharging bacteria pollution from stormwater sewage systems argues that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has no jurisdiction to overturn the federal judge’s decision not to reconsider granting the fees and should dismiss an appeal the cities filed seeking the appellate court’s opinion on the “excessive and premature attorney’s fees order.”

  • November 27, 2024

    EPA Appeals To 2nd Circuit Dismissal Of CAA Violations Suit Against EBay

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Nov. 26 filed a notice of appeal in a New York federal court advising that it was appealing to the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals the lower court’s dismissal of a suit filed on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alleging that eBay Inc. is in violation of federal environmental laws by selling motor vehicle parts and accessories, pesticides and paint remover products that run afoul of pollution standards and are toxic.

  • November 27, 2024

    States, Energy Companies Tell D.C. Circuit EPA Methane Rule Violates Federal Law

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Multiple states have filed a brief in the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that the “presumptive standards” for existing sources listed in the 2024 methane rule instituted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by “diminishing the States’ statutory authority” to create their own plans that consider their specific circumstances, including “the remaining useful life” of chemical facilities within their borders.  The same day, members of the energy sector also filed a brief contending that the EPA’s standard is “unlawful and arbitrary and capricious.”

  • November 26, 2024

    Okla. Opposes Poultry Companies’ Motion To Prolong Ongoing Pollution Case Hearing

    TULSA, Okla. — Oklahoma argues that accountability is “long overdue” for Tyson Foods Inc. and other Arkansas-based poultry plant operators “for their historic and ongoing actions that have contributed to the pollution and degradation of the waters in the Illinois River Watershed” (IRW) and says an Oklahoma federal judge should deny the companies’ motion to postpone an evidentiary hearing on potential injunctive relief and prudential mootness.

  • November 25, 2024

    South Bay Residents Seek Damages From Exposure To Sewage Treatment Plant Pollution

    SAN DIEGO — A group of residents in the South Bay Area filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court against the operators of a San Ysidro wastewater treatment plant, alleging ongoing exposure to untreated sewage, noxious fumes and other pollutants from the plant and seeking damages for physical injuries, property damages and more under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

  • November 22, 2024

    Calif. Waste Facility Operator To Pay $762K In Fees In Leachate Discharge Case

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge in California has ordered the operator of a California recycling and waste facility that allegedly violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) and state law by discharging stormwater-contaminated leachate into a wetland preserve and the Sacramento River to pay more than $762,000 in attorney fees and costs to an environmental nonprofit, stating that the nonprofit is a prevailing party and eligible for reasonable compensation.

  • November 20, 2024

    9th Circuit Panel Affirms Summary Judgment On CWA Claims Over Montana Resort

    SAN FRANCISCO — Affirming summary judgment in favor of the owners of a Montana mountain resort, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said in an unpublished memorandum disposition that the ruling by a federal district court shutting down Clean Water Act (CWA) claims asserted by an environmental law center arising from alleged discharges of treated wastewater was correct because a consent order from a previous case bars the claims through a combination of res judicata and release.

  • November 20, 2024

    Consent Decree Orders W.Va. Agency To Create Plans For Pollution In Waterways

    HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A federal judge in West Virginia has approved a consent decree between three environmental advocacy groups and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) that sets a timeline for the state agency to complete plans to address levels of ionic toxicity pollution in 11 water bodies in the Lower Guyandotte River watershed following years of Clean Water Act (CWA) violations.

  • November 19, 2024

    High Court Grants Extensions To Respond To States’ Petition Regarding CAA Rule

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 18 granted a nearly three-week extension to an array of states and public interest group that are intervening in a Clean Air Act (CAA) case to respond to a petition for writ of certiorari that four other states filed asking the court to determine whether the statute allows for remand to the federal agency to supplement the administrative record with new details after a rule is promulgated in reference to establishment of an implementation plan for attaining ozone air quality standards for 23 states whose own plans were previously disapproved.

  • November 19, 2024

    Calif. Refinery, Regulatory Agencies Reach $82M Settlement Over Air Regulations

    SAN FRANCISCO — Two California environmental regulatory agencies have inked a settlement agreement with the owner of a Benicia refining company that assesses a nearly $82 million penalty for allegedly violating state air regulations, laws and permit conditions dating back to the early 2000s.