Mealey's Pollution Liability

  • March 28, 2024

    California Federal Judge Grants Interim Attorney Fees In Clean Water Act Dispute

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — An environmental organization is entitled to a reasonable amount of interim attorney fees under the Clean Water Act (CWA) because it was a prevailing party in a partial summary judgment order in which two cities were found to have violated the CWA by discharging bacteria pollution from their stormwater sewer systems, a California federal judge found in granting the organization’s motion for interim fees.

  • March 27, 2024

    Diverting Stream Violated State Law Protecting Wetlands, Michigan Panel Rules

    DETROIT — A trial court did not err in finding that a man violated state environmental laws by diverting a stream to build a pond on his property because the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) presented sufficient evidence to show that the wetlands affected by the diversion were protected, a Michigan panel found in affirming the trial court’s judgment.

  • March 26, 2024

    Federal Jury Finds That Companies Were Both Negligent In Liquid Mercury Spill

    PITTSBURGH — A transportation company and a recycling company were equally negligent in causing a shipment of liquid mercury to spill and cause environmental damage, a Pennsylvania federal jury said in a verdict returned after a three-day trial.

  • March 26, 2024

    Wash. Panel: Stormwater Permit Applies To Entirety Of Transportation Facilities

    SEATTLE — A state administrative hearing board erred in finding that a general industrial stormwater permit did not apply to the entirety of transportation facilities that are subject to regulation under the permit because the board relied on language from similar federal regulations that was not present in the permit, a Washington appeals court panel found in reversing the board’s decision.

  • March 25, 2024

    Ill. Federal Judge Refuses To Disqualify Attorneys Retained By City In PCB Dispute

    EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Attorneys retained by East St. Louis should not be disqualified for signing contingency fee agreements in a case brought against Monsanto Co. for its alleged contamination of city property with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) because safeguards in the agreements ensure that the city retains decision-making power over the litigation, an Illinois federal judge found in denying the company’s motion to disqualify.

  • March 21, 2024

    Illinois Federal Judge Remands PCB Contamination Dispute To State Court

    CHICAGO — A dispute over whether Monsanto and one of its distributors are liable for damages allegedly caused by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the storm sewer systems of several northern Illinois municipalities should be heard in state court because diversity, federal enclave and federal question jurisdiction do not exist, an Illinois federal judge found in granting the municipalities’ motion to remand.

  • March 21, 2024

    Prior Consent Decree Moots Trade Union’s Request To Review Incinerator Standards

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency cannot be compelled to review certain emissions standards for solid-waste incinerators because that issue was decided in a prior consent decree covering the same standards, a District of Columbia federal judge found in granting, without prejudice, the agency’s motion to dismiss a complaint filed by a trade union.

  • March 19, 2024

    In Toxic Landfill Case, N.Y. Federal Judge Partly Grants Summary Judgment Motion

    BUFFALO, N.Y. — Summary judgment is not appropriate for personal injury claims brought by a group of residents of North Tonawanda, N.Y., who allege that they were affected by toxic substances at a landfill in Wheatfield, N.Y., because the residents were not given the opportunity to present expert witness reports regarding their injuries, a New York federal judge found in partly granting a motion for summary judgment filed by Wheatfield and a group of companies that allegedly contributed to pollution at the landfill.

  • March 19, 2024

    In Dispute Over New CWA Rule, Federal Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction Motion

    LAKE CHARLES, La. — In denying a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by 11 states and several private parties, a Louisiana federal judge found that the group failed to establish a likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that the Environmental Protection Agency’s new Clean Water Act (CWA) rule governing water quality certification procedures was being impermissibly applied retroactively.

  • March 15, 2024

    Preliminary Injunction Is Not Appropriate In Dispute Over Golf Course Discharges

    BUTTE, Mont. — An environmental group is not entitled to a preliminary injunction that would prevent a resort from filling water hazards on its golf course because questions of fact exist about whether the water hazards are contaminating a river in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA), a Montana federal judge found in denying the group’s motion for an injunction.

  • March 14, 2024

    Colorado Federal Judge Grants Motion To Amend CERCLA Consent Decree

    DENVER — Funds paid by a large oil company pursuant to a consent decree resolving Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act claims arising from a release of hazardous materials at a military site should no longer be restricted to use solely on a state greenway project, a Colorado federal judge found in granting an unopposed motion to amend the consent decree.

  • March 08, 2024

    Judge Nixes Norfolk Southern’s Case Against Railcar Owners For Remediation Costs

    YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio has dismissed a third-party lawsuit filed by Norfolk Southern Corp. and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (collectively, Norfolk Southern) that sought to apportion to railcar companies some amount of liability for the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that resulted in the release of toxic chemicals, ruling that Norfolk Southern failed to state a claim against those companies.

  • March 07, 2024

    D.C. Circuit: EPA Erred In Asking States To Revise Parts Of Emissions Plans

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency erred in requesting that several states revise portions of their state implementation plans under the Clean Air Act (CAA) because some of the provisions in the plans that partly limit emissions standards cited as unlawful by the agency are permissible, a District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel majority found in granting in part seven petitions for judicial review filed by various states and industry parties.

  • March 05, 2024

    Ohio Federal Judge: Proposed Consent Decree Amendments Would Pollute National Park

    AKRON, Ohio — Adopting amendments proposed by Akron would allow the city to discharge around 100 million gallons of untreated sewage into Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP), an Ohio federal judge found in denying the city’s motion to amend a consent decree that resolved Clean Water Act (CWA) claims arising from overflows of untreated sewage brought against the city by the United States.

  • March 05, 2024

    California Panel: Agency May Reclassify Hazardous Waste Facility Violations

    SAN FRANCISCO — The California Department of Toxic Substances Control did not err in reclassifying violations of California’s Hazardous Waste Control Law (HWCL) committed by the owner and operator of a hazardous waste facility as more severe because the law does not prohibit such reclassifications, a California panel found March 4 in affirming a trial court’s judgment.

  • March 05, 2024

    Idaho Federal Judge Dismisses Criminal Count Brought Under CAA Asbestos Standards

    POCATELLO, Idaho — The United States failed to allege a criminal offense arising from the Clean Air Act (CAA) in one count of its indictment against a man who allegedly violated the statute by failing to comply with certain asbestos standards when demolishing two buildings because the language of the CAA does not make failing to thoroughly inspect a building for asbestos a crime, an Idaho federal judge found in granting the man’s motion to dismiss in part.

  • March 05, 2024

    N.M. Panel Affirms Agency’s Findings Regarding Sludge Dumping On Tribal Land

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) did not err in finding that the operator of a luxury hotel violated several state environmental laws by dumping wastewater sludge onto tribal land because the administrative record supports the findings, a New Mexico appeals panel found in affirming the agency’s decision.

  • February 29, 2024

    10th Circuit Transfers Good Neighbor Provision Cases, Comments On Circuit Split

    DENVER — The District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has exclusive jurisdiction over petitions for judicial review challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to disapprove Utah’s and Oklahoma’s state implementation plans for new air quality standards under the Clean Air Act (CAA) because the disapprovals apply nationally, a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in granting the EPA’s motions to transfer; the panel also commented on the current circuit split over the issue.

  • February 28, 2024

    California Federal Judge: Retroactive Application Of CERCLA Is Constitutional

    LOS ANGELES — The former operator of a secondary lead smelter that contaminated nearby soil and groundwater may be liable for the past cleanup costs caused by the contamination because retroactive application of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is constitutional and does not violate due process, a California federal judge found in denying the operator’s motion for summary judgment.

  • February 23, 2024

    Ohio EPA Is Diligently Prosecuting Ammonia Emissions Claims, Federal Judge Says

    DAYTON, Ohio — Clean Air Act (CAA) claims brought by two Ohio cities are barred by the CAA’s diligent prosecution bar because the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency already reached a consent decree covering the same allegations, an Ohio federal judge found in granting summary judgment in favor of two companies that allegedly emitted ammonia from a site designed to turn organic waste into electricity.

  • February 22, 2024

    U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments On CAA Good Neighbor Plan Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 21 heard arguments on whether it should stay the Good Neighbor Plan issued by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act (CAA) that would establish an implementation plan for attaining air quality standards for 23 states whose own plans were disapproved by the agency.

  • February 16, 2024

    Judge Won’t Reconsider Defeat Device Ruling In Light Of Settlement Termination

    BAY CITY, Mich. — Owners of diesel Chevrolet vehicles that were allegedly installed with devices designed to defeat Environmental Protection Agency emissions testing are not entitled to reconsideration of an order dismissing their claims in light of a defendant’s termination of the settlement agreement covering the claims because there was no pending motion for preliminary approval of the agreement, a Michigan federal judge ruled in denying the owners’ motion for reconsideration.

  • February 16, 2024

    Dispute Over Applicability Of Pollution Exclusion Transferred To D.C. Federal Court

    SANTA ANA, Calif. — A suit filed by insurers seeking a declaration that their policies’ pollution exclusion bars coverage for an underlying class action alleging that an insured restaurant’s grain and salad bowls contain harmful levels of fluorine and biocides will be transferred to District of Columbia federal court because the insurance contracts were signed in the District of Columbia and the majority of the witnesses are located in the District of Columbia, a California federal judge said in granting the insured’s motion to transfer the suit.

  • February 16, 2024

    Citing 2nd Circuit Case, Federal Judge Remands Vermont’s Climate Change Claims

    BURLINGTON, Vt. — Relying heavily on a recent Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision covering similar claims, a Vermont federal judge remanded climate change claims brought by Vermont against several oil and gas companies because the state did not assert any claims that raised questions of federal law.

  • February 16, 2024

    United States And Apache Corp. File Consent Decree Resolving Alleged CAA Violations

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In a consent decree filed the same day as a complaint, Apache Corp. agreed to pay a $4 million civil penalty to resolve Clean Air Act (CAA) violation claims brought against it by the United States arising from the company’s fracking operations in New Mexico and Texas.