October 2011
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Illinois Supreme Court Limits Environmental Groups’ Appeal Rights
On October 27, 2011, the Illinois Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision, held that the Sierra Club and Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste (“the opposition groups”) did not have standing to seek review of an Illinois Pollution Control Board (“Board”) decision granting a company’s petition to be relieved of compliance with a hazardous waste regulation.… Continue reading
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States Seek Review By The U.S. Supreme Court In Asian Carp Case
As previously discussed in this blog, the states of Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, seeking a preliminary injunction aimed at stopping the spread of Asian carp from the Chicago Area Waterway System (“CAWS”) into the Great Lakes.… Continue reading
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EPA’s Malicious Prosecution Costs U.S. Government $1.7 Million
An ordeal that began in 1996 has culminated in a judgment of $1.7 million for former refinery manager, Hubert Vidrine. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana awarded Vidrine that sum based on the EPA’s malicious prosecution for violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The Court held that the EPA… Continue reading
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EPA Releases Memo Outlining Enforcement Discretion for CERCLA Liability Protection
By Phoebe B. Scott On September 21, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Office of Site Remediation Enforcement released a memorandum titled “Enforcement Discretion Guidance Regarding the Affiliation Language of CERCLA’s Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser and Contiguous Property Owner Liability Protections.” The memorandum outlines how EPA intends to exercise its enforcement discretion for parties who… Continue reading
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Significant Penalty Imposed For Alleged RCRA Violations
According to U.S. EPA, Sherwin-Williams agreed to pay a $570,000 civil penalty to settle alleged RCRA violations at a paint manufacturing facility in Baltimore. These alleged violations included the storage of hazardous waste in excess of 90 days, the failure to date and label hazardous waste containers, the failure to close hazardous waste containers, the… Continue reading
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CERCLA Claims Against Environmental Contractor Allowed To Proceed
A federal district court refused to dismiss a lawsuit alleging CERCLA liability on the part of an environmental contractor which performed an environmental assessment and cleanup of a contaminated property. In Bancorpsouth Bank v. Environmental Operations, Inc., et al., Bancorpsouth filed a lawsuit against several environmental contractors that were involved in the remediation of a… Continue reading
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CERCLA’s “Federally Required Commencement Date” Preempts State Statute Of Repose
A Georgia federal district court judge found that CERCLA preempted a state statute of repose. In In In re Camp Lejeune, N.C. Water Contamination Litigation, the plaintiffs, who allege that they were injured as a result of exposure to contaminated drinking water, argued that CERCLA Section 9658(a) preempted state statutes of repose. CERCLA Section 9658… Continue reading
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NWF Says Ecosystem Breakdowns in Great Lakes Caused by Excessive Nutrients and Invasive Mussels
By Phoebe B. Scott On October 4, 2011, the National Wildlife Federation ("NWF")released a report titled Feast and Famine in the Great Lakes: How Nutrients and Invasive Species Interact to Overwhelm the Coasts and Starve Offshore Waters, claiming that a combination of excessive nutrients and invasive zebra and quagga mussels are causing ecosystem breakdowns in… Continue reading
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EPA Issues Final Health Assessment for TCE
On September 28, 2011, EPA issued a final health assessment for trichloroethylene (“TCE”) to its Integrated Risk Information System (“IRIS”) database. Continue reading
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Supreme Court Rejects Petition in Morrison Enterprises: High Court Will Not Address Key Superfund Cost Recovery Provisions
On October 3, the Supreme Court rejected the petition for certiorari in Morrison Enterprises, LLC v. Dravo Corp., which sought to clarify key Superfund cost recovery provisions. Continue reading