Mealey's Pollution Liability : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Pollution Liability

June 07, 2024
Residents Affected By Air Pollution From Mill Seek Approval Of $18M Settlement

ROCK HILL, S.C. — After three years of litigation in South Carolina federal court, a group of residents whose homes and health have allegedly been damaged by air pollution from a nearby paper mill seek preliminary approval of a class settlement agreement that would see the operator of the mill pay $18 million to settle the residents’ negligence and nuisance claims.
June 05, 2024
Oil Companies Ask Supreme Court To Decide Preemption Issue In Climate Change Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a reply brief filed before the U.S. Supreme Court, a group of oil and gas companies argue that the Hawaii Supreme Court erred by refusing to find that claims arising from the companies’ alleged efforts to conceal the effects their fossil fuel products would have on global climate change were not preempted by federal law.
June 04, 2024
States And Energy Groups Argue New CWA Rule Is Impermissibly Expansive

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A new Clean Water Act (CWA) rule promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency that alters state water quality certification procedures must be stricken down because it conflicts with previous versions of the rule and allows states to regulate activities beyond the original scope of the CWA, a group of 11 states and three energy industry groups argue in a motion for summary judgment filed in Louisiana federal court.
June 03, 2024
Vermont Enacts Climate Change Law That Will Make Oil And Gas Companies Pay

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Legislation authorizing Vermont to collect financial penalties from companies that contributed to climate change became law on May 31 when Gov. Phil Scott failed to sign or veto the bill five days after it was delivered to him by the Vermont General Assembly.
June 03, 2024
EPA Investigation Does Not Preempt State Court Injunction, Vermont High Court Says

MONTPELIER, Vt. — The owner of a farm failed to show that it cannot comply with a state court injunction enjoining it from discharging water onto its neighbor’s property and an Environmental Protection Agency investigation regarding potential Clean Water Act (CWA) violations because the owner has not reached a final agreement with the EPA at this time, the Vermont Supreme Court found in affirming a trial court’s judgment to deny the owner postjudgment relief.
June 03, 2024
Like Others, EPA Asks Supreme Court To Consider CAA Jurisdiction Provision

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a petition for a writ of certiorari, the Environmental Protection Agency asks the U.S. Supreme Court to consider whether a provision of the Clean Air Act (CAA) grants the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals exclusive jurisdiction over petitions for judicial review of the agency’s decisions to deny several small refineries’ requests for exemptions from the law’s Renewable Fuel Standard program; the petition is one of three pending before the high court regarding the jurisdiction provision.
May 31, 2024
Utah And Oklahoma Urge Supreme Court To Resolve CAA Jurisdiction Question

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In their joint reply brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court on May 30, Utah and Oklahoma argue that their case is a better vehicle to resolve the question of whether the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has exclusive jurisdiction over challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to disapprove state implementation plans for new air quality standards under the Clean Air Act, as opposed to a separate petition filed in the high court by the EPA itself.
May 31, 2024
Defendants’ New Company Cannot Be Held Liable For Pesticide Contamination

CINCINNATI — A new company owned by defendants that are liable for pesticide contamination under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act is not liable for response costs under the statute because it was previously found to be not liable as successor to the defendants’ defunct corporation, an Ohio federal judge found in denying Ohio’s renewed motion for default judgment.
May 30, 2024
BP: Magistrate’s Report Correct, Deepwater Horizon Case Should Be Dismissed

PENSACOLA, Fla. — BP Exploration & Production Inc. and BP America Production Co. (collectively, BP) filed a brief in Florida federal court arguing that it should overrule a plaintiff’s objection to a magistrate judge’s report that recommended that the court dismiss an injury lawsuit brought by a man who says he developed cancer as a result of working on a clean-up crew following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
May 28, 2024
High Court Will Review Narrative Prohibitions Within San Francisco’s NPDES Permit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In granting a petition for writ of certiorari filed by San Francisco, the U.S. Supreme Court decided May 28 that it will consider whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) by including two narrative prohibitions in the city’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) sewer system permit that are allegedly too vague to meet the CWA’s requirements.
May 24, 2024
Norfolk Southern To Pay $311M To Settle Federal Claims Over Ohio Tran Derailment

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The U.S. government on May 23 lodged a proposed consent decree in Ohio federal court under which Norfolk Southern Corp. and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (collectively, Norfolk Southern) agree to pay $311,175,000 to settle claims related to the release of toxic chemicals from the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The payment includes a $15 million civil penalty as well as money to improve rail safety and pay for health monitoring in the community.
May 24, 2024
California Federal Jury Says Gas Station Owner Violated RCRA And CERCLA

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal jury returned a verdict in favor of a property owner that brought claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) against a neighboring gas station where hazardous substances were released that migrated to the plaintiff’s property.
May 23, 2024
Chicago Asks Illinois Federal Court To Remand Climate Change Claims

CHICAGO — In a motion to remand, Chicago says its claims alleging that several large oil and gas companies deceived the public about the harmful effects fossil fuel products have on climate change should be remanded to the Illinois state court where they were originally filed because the claims all arise under state law.
May 22, 2024
Pursuant To Consent Decree, EPA Proposes Plan To Clean Up PCBs In Spokane River

WASHINGTON, D.C. — To satisfy the terms of a consent decree it entered into with two environmental groups, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed plan to reduce the amount of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Spokane and Little Spokane rivers by setting new total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for PCBs.
May 21, 2024
Sensitive Nuclear Information Is Sealed And Redacted In Contamination Dispute

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Information relating to the production of nuclear material is export controlled and should be sealed or redacted, an Illinois federal judge found in granting a motion to seal or redact filed by a company accused of contaminating property near its nuclear production facility with radiation and other toxic materials.
May 21, 2024
Operators Of Manufacturing Site Settle TCE Discharge Claims For $14 Million

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Several companies that operated a manufacturing site where trichloroethylene (TCE) and other hazardous substances were discharged into soil and groundwater agreed to settle state and federal environmental law claims brought against them by New Jersey officials for more than $14 million in a consent judgment entered in New Jersey state court.
May 17, 2024
D.C. Circuit Denies Petitions For Review Of CAA’s Renewable Fuel Standard Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In denying separate petitions for review filed by a group of biofuel producers and a group of fossil fuel refiners, the majority of a District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found that the Environmental Protection Agency did not act arbitrarily or capriciously by changing standards for renewable fossil fuels under the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) Renewable Fuel Standard program.
May 15, 2024
Parties Debate Amount Of Penalty Owed In Glass Maker’s Water Pollution Case

PITTSBURGH — A glass manufacturer that is a defendant in a long-running groundwater contamination lawsuit has filed a trial brief in Pennsylvania federal court arguing that, on the record and under the law, it is not appropriate to impose any penalty on the company in excess of the $1.2 million penalty it has already paid. The same day, the environmental group bringing the case filed its trial brief contending that the court should impose a civil penalty of $50 million in excess of the economic benefit the glass maker has enjoyed as a result of its violations.
May 15, 2024
Navajo Nation, Contractor Voluntarily Dismiss Gold King Mine Claims After Settlement

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In New Mexico federal court, a government contractor and the Navajo Nation filed a joint stipulation to dismiss the tribe’s claims arising from the contractor’s alleged involvement in the release of hazardous substances from the Gold King Mine, which contaminated large portions of tribal land.
May 15, 2024
Ohio Panel: Man Failed To Timely Petition Illegal Solid Waste Dumping Charges

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — A trial court did not err in denying a convicted man’s petition for postconviction relief from charges of illegal solid waste dumping because the petition was untimely filed, an Ohio panel found in affirming the trial court’s judgment.
May 15, 2024
N.Y. Federal Judge Follows ‘Overwhelming Majority’ In Remanding Climate Change Case

NEW YORK — Consumer protection claims brought by New York City against oil and gas companies that allegedly lied to consumers about the effects of fossil fuel products belong in state court because the companies failed to show that federal jurisdiction is proper in this instance, a New York federal judge found in joining “the overwhelming majority” of federal courts that have granted similar motions to remand.
May 14, 2024
Successor Company May Be Liable Under CERCLA Even Though Predecessor Still Exists

NEWARK, N.J. — An environmental company that allegedly assumed liability for releases of hazardous substances at a chlorine production facility from one of the site’s former operators can be liable for response costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) even though the operator still exists, a New Jersey federal judge found in denying the company’s motion to dismiss.
May 13, 2024
Environmental Group Has Standing To Sue Company For Idling Buses In Connecticut

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — An environmental group has standing to sue a bus company for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) by idling its buses for longer than three minutes because the group alleges that its members are harmed by the air pollutants emitted by the buses, a Connecticut federal judge found in denying the company’s motion to dismiss.
May 09, 2024
CAA Criminal Charges Can Be Issued For Engine Tampering, Wash. Federal Judge Says

TACOMA, Wash. — The Clean Air Act (CAA) allows both civil penalties and criminal charges to be brought against individuals who tamper with pollution control devices within onboard diagnostic systems of motor vehicle engines, a Washington federal judge found in denying a motion to dismiss criminal charges filed by a woman who was indicted for such tampering.
May 09, 2024
United States Tells Supreme Court It’s Not Liable For World War II Era Pollution

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its brief in opposition to a petition for a writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court by a group of oil and gas companies seeking contribution for cleanup costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the United States says it’s not liable for environmental cleanup costs arising from petroleum production at refineries during World War II because it did not “operate” the refineries when it directed production of certain petroleum products at the facilities.