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Mealey's Pollution Liability

  • January 21, 2025

    Texas Says It’s Not The Place For Nuclear Waste In High Court Licensing Cases

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Texas and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) argue in a brief filed in two consolidated U.S. Supreme Court cases that the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ correctly interpreted the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) and elements of the Hobbs Act when it vacated approval of a license allowing the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a government contractor to store spent nuclear fuel at a west Texas facility, as the federal government already has clear directive for disposing of materials at Yucca Mountain and other “interim federal facilities—not a private facility in Texas.”

  • January 17, 2025

    Federal Judge Orders EPA Decision On Refinery Hardship Petition; Appeal Expected

    SHREVEPORT, La. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must decide on a small refinery’s petition for hardship relief from the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) Renewable Fuel Standard program by Jan. 22 after a Louisiana federal judge, in granting the refinery’s motion for summary judgment, called the agency’s arguments for an extension “unpersuasive” because it had more than 200 days to decide on the petition but “continuously failed to act.”

  • January 16, 2025

    Couple Seeks Judgment On Right To Recover CERCLA Costs For AFFF Contamination

    CHARLESTON, S.C. — A married couple that runs a dairy farm has moved for leave to file a motion for partial summary judgment in the litigation over contamination from the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), contending that they are entitled to recover the costs associated with compliance requirements related to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.

  • January 14, 2025

    High Court Requests U.S. Response In Washington Port Facility CWA Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 invited the solicitor general to file a brief expressing the views of the United States on the issue of whether the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was correct in ruling that two Washington state-issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits applied to the entirety of a terminal where stormwater discharges entered into Puget Sound on the grounds that private citizens cannot bring actions in federal court to enforce certain state permit conditions under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

  • January 14, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Chloroprene Counterclaim, Says D.C. Circuit Has Jurisdiction

    NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in Louisiana has granted the U.S. government’s motion to dismiss an amended counterclaim filed by a defendant chemical company in an injury lawsuit involving carcinogenic chloroprene emissions from neoprene manufacturing operations, ruling that the chemical company’s argument that the district court has jurisdiction to review the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s action would “nullify Congress’ choice” to assign the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to review Clean Air Act (CAA) actions, whether the EPA acted lawfully or not.

  • January 14, 2025

    Supreme Court Denies Oil Companies’ Petitions In Hawaii Climate Change Cases

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 denied a pair of petitions for writ of certiorari filed by two groups of oil companies that asked the court to determine whether the Hawaii Supreme Court erred in finding that claims arising from the companies’ alleged efforts to conceal the potential effects of their fossil fuel products on global climate change are not preempted by federal law.

  • January 13, 2025

    Supreme Court Denies States’ Petition Asking Not To Remand Rule To EPA Under CAA

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by four states led by Ohio that asked the court to determine whether the Clean Air Act (CAA) allows for remand to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 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.

  • January 10, 2025

    U.S. Seeks Remediation Reimbursement, Lien Under CERCLA In Idaho Asbestos Case

    POCATELLO, Idaho — The United States is seeking recovery of remediation costs, a declaratory judgment and a federal lien under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act from and against the owners of a site in downtown Burley, Idaho, stemming from the release of hazardous substances following the demolition of two buildings that were damaged by fire.

  • January 09, 2025

    U.S., Third-Party Defendants Say They Are Not Liable For Cleanup Under CERCLA

    NEWARK, N.J. — The United States and several third-party defendants have asked a New Jersey federal judge to dismiss counterclaims and a complaint an environmental company filed alleging liability for response and damage costs and seeking declaratory judgment for remediation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) stemming from releases of hazardous substances at a chlorine production facility after the judge refused to reconsider his denial of a previous motion filed by the company asking for dismissal of initial liability claims.

  • January 08, 2025

    Transfer Of EPA Clean Air Act Venue Questions Briefed In U.S. Supreme Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — New York and several other states and municipalities filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has filed a merits brief asking the justices to vacate a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals order and remand with instructions to transfer a case regarding the agency’s decisions to deny several small refineries’ requests for exemptions from the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) Renewable Fuel Standard program to the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • January 06, 2025

    Special Counsel In New Jersey PFAS Settlement Seek More Than $36.7M In Fees

    WOODBURY, N.J. — The special counsel to the New Jersey attorney general and the plaintiffs filed a motion in New Jersey state court seeking $36,705,834.80 in attorney fees for their work in reaching a $392,781,963.69 settlement to resolve the state’s lawsuit for cleanup and removal costs from contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

  • January 06, 2025

    Oil Companies Respond To Solicitor General In Supreme Court Climate Change Cases

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two groups of oil companies argue in separate supplemental U.S. Supreme Court briefs that Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar fails to justify elements of the United States’ position and mischaracterizes federal common-law arguments in an amicus curiae brief filed in two related cases expressing views on whether the Hawaii Supreme Court erred in finding that claims arising from the companies’ alleged efforts to conceal effects their fossil fuel products would have on global climate change are not preempted by federal law.

  • January 03, 2025

    States Highlight Question’s Importance In Supreme Court CAA Petition Reply

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Four states that filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether the Clean Air Act (CAA) allows for remand to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 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 say in a reply brief that review is necessary now to keep the issue “laser-focused on the rulemaking process” and offer “a more specific answer, grounded in statutory text.”

  • January 02, 2025

    9th Circuit Panel Dismisses Appeal Of Fee Denial Reconsideration In CWA Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — Citing lack of jurisdiction, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel has granted an environmental organization’s motion to dismiss an appeal the cities of Sunnyvale and Mountain View, Calif., filed of a federal court’s denial of reconsideration of interim attorney fees to the organization in a Clean Water Act (CWA) case.

  • 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.