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Mealey's Pollution Liability

  • 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judgment in favor of the owners of a Montana mountain resort, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said in an unpublished memorandum disposition that the ruling by a federal district court shutting down Clean Water Act (CWA) claims asserted by an environmental law center arising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.

  • November 18, 2024

    Mo. Company Seeks Denial Of Motion To Alter Or Amend CERCLA Reimbursement Ruling

    JOPLIN, Mo. —  The former owner and operator of a shuttered Missouri fertilizing plant is asking a federal magistrate judge to deny a motion two development companies filed to alter or amend a ruling that the Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act statute of limitations foreclosed the development companies’ attempt to recoup costs associated with remediation efforts at the site, stating the statute of limitations has run and new evidence related to construction of a leachate collection system does not necessitate a different result.

  • November 15, 2024

    Companies Cite Recent 7th Circuit Decision In Opposing Climate Change Case Remand

    CHICAGO — With a notice of supplemental authority introducing a recent Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision, several large oil companies are opposing the city of Chicago’s attempt to remand its suit alleging that the companies deceived the public about the harmful effects fossil fuel products have on climate change from a federal court in Illinois to state court, arguing that because federal officers directed many of the production and sales activities, the federal court has jurisdiction.  The judge subsequently asked the city for a five-page response to the filing.

  • November 14, 2024

    California Federal Judge Denies Insurers’ Motion For Summary Judgment In CERCLA Case

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge in California has denied a motion for summary judgment that a group of intervening insurers filed in a dispute over liability for groundwater contamination under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, stating that expert testimony is not required to prove elements of the claim.

  • November 13, 2024

    Army Corps Defends Issuance Of CWA Permit For Tennessee Pipeline In 6th Circuit

    CINCINNATI — A Tennessee company’s plans to build a natural gas pipeline use the least environmentally damaging methods, minimize impacts from construction, correctly follow details of its state-issued certification and do not violate water quality standards, the Army Corps of Engineers claims in a brief filed in response to two environmental groups’ petition asking the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to vacate the project’s Clean Water Act (CWA) permit.

  • November 13, 2024

    Under Proposed Rule, EPA Would Collect Annual Charge On Methane Emissions

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Nov. 12 announced that it has issued a proposed final rule promulgating a regulation to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA), also known as the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP), under which the EPA will collect an annual charge on methane emissions that exceed waste emissions thresholds specified by Congress.

  • November 12, 2024

    Chamber, Trade Groups Argue EPA Erred In Deeming 2 PFAS Hazardous Substances

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America and six trade associations are asking the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to vacate a final rule promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency that added two widely used per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of hazardous substances covered by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, arguing that the agency erred in deeming the substances hazardous and did not adequately consider the costs of implementing the rule.

  • November 07, 2024

    Nonprofits’ Calif. Utility Pole RCRA Case Dismissed After Consent Decree Approved

    SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California dismissed a complaint two conservation nonprofits filed against a California electric and natural gas utility corporation alleging violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) over the handling, storage and disposal of treated wood utility poles at six of its waste storage sites following the approval of a consent decree that requires the company to implement remediation efforts and pay $362,500 in costs and fees.

  • November 07, 2024

    Company To Pay $1.5M Penalty, Address Violations At Idaho Fertilizer Plant

    BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho agribusiness company has agreed to take remedial action to bring one of its fertilizer and agricultural products manufacturing facilities into compliance with requirements for environmental safety standards and pay a $1.5 million civil penalty through a settlement agreement with the U.S. government over alleged violations of four federal environmental protection statutes.

  • November 07, 2024

    U.S. Files CWA Complaint Alleging Alaska Vessel Bilge Water Contamination

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The U.S. government is seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief against an Alaska commercial fishing company founder and manager and three of his businesses for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) by discharging oily bilge water into coastal waters and failing to comply with pollution control regulations.

  • November 07, 2024

    Companies Bring New Evidence To Obtain Reimbursement Over Environmental Harm

    JOPLIN, Mo. — Two Missouri development companies are asking a federal magistrate judge to alter or amend a ruling that the Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act statute of limitations foreclosed the company’s attempt to recoup costs associated with remediating a former fertilizer plant that generated phosphogypsum and caused pollution and environmental harm, alleging that there is new evidence related to construction of a leachate management system at the site.

  • November 04, 2024

    U.S. High Court Won’t Review Tribe’s NPDES New Source Permit Ruling

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 4 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari the San Carlos Apache Tribe filed asking for review of an Arizona Supreme Court decision that a copper mine shaft constructed in 2014 does not require a new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

  • November 04, 2024

    Petitioners Urge D.C. Circuit To Vacate Coal-Fired Power Plant Emissions Rule

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a reply brief filed with the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, 27 states and a laundry list of other petitioners argue that a rule that would impose new emissions standards on coal-fired power plants under the authority of the Clean Air Act (CAA) violates administrative law and oversteps authorities.

  • October 30, 2024

    Environmental Groups Urge 6th Circuit To Vacate CWA Permit For Tenn. Pipeline

    CINCINNATI — Two environmental groups are asking the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to vacate a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit that the Army Corps of Engineers granted for construction of a Tennessee natural gas pipeline, stating the agency’s attempts to assume the practicability of trenchless crossings, select the least environmentally damaging construction method and determine whether the project would contribute to water quality standards violations, among other tasks, were arbitrary, capricious and unlawful.

  • October 30, 2024

    States, Private Groups Challenge New EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule In D.C. Circuit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — About two dozen states and a cluster of private groups filed a pair of petitions in consolidated litigation in the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that challenge an Environmental Protection Agency rule that implements new greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles, claiming that the rule is an overreach of the agency’s authority and is arbitrary and capricious in its execution.

  • October 29, 2024

    6th Circuit Grants Stay To Environmental Groups In Tennessee Pipeline Debate

    CINCINNATTI — Construction of a Tennessee natural gas pipeline is on pause after a split Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel granted two environmental groups’ motions to stay under the Clean Water Act (CWA), stating that the groups demonstrated risks of considerable irreparable harm if the project advances.

  • October 25, 2024

    Fuel Maker To Justices: EPA Admitted Calif. Emissions Waiver Will Impact Fuel Use

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — An attorney representing an ethanol manufacturer that is a petitioner in one of two U.S. Supreme Court cases seeking a ruling on whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to waive new Clean Air Act (CAA) standards for automobile emissions in California filed a letter arguing that a recent EPA proposal contradicts the agency’s claim that the waiver will have no effect on liquid fuel consumptions.

  • October 23, 2024

    Terminal Operators Petition U.S. Supreme Court On Wash. Port Facility Decision

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of marine cargo terminal operators are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals 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).

  • October 22, 2024

    Fracking Operator To Pay $9.4M To Settle Emissions Case Brought By EPA, New Mexico

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a $9.4 million settlement with a hydraulic fracturing operator to resolve violations of new federal standards under the Clean Air Act (CAA) related to toxic emissions from crude oil and natural gas facilities and to settle claims brought under the state administrative code of New Mexico.

  • October 21, 2024

    California Cities Appeal Denial Of Interim Attorney Fees In Clean Water Act Case

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Two California cities are asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn a federal judge’s decision not to reconsider interim attorney fees granted to an environmental organization that sued the cities under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharging bacteria pollution from stormwater sewage systems.

  • October 21, 2024

    EPA’s Clean Air Act Venue Questions Will Be Considered By U.S. Supreme Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 21 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asking the justices 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 EPA’s decisions to deny several small refineries’ requests for exemptions from the law’s Renewable Fuel Standard program.

  • October 21, 2024

    Clean Air Act Jurisdiction Petitions By States, Companies Granted By High Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Questions posed in two petitions for a writ of certiorari, one by Oklahoma and Utah and one by a power company and other companies and agencies, seeking a ruling on 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 (CAA) will be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the court's Oct. 21 order list.