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

Mealey's Pollution Liability

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.
February 15, 2024
Liquidation Order Leads To Permanent Stay For 1 Defendant In Coverage Row

NEWARK, N.J. — All claims against one defendant in a suit in New Jersey federal court over environmental investigation and remediation have been permanently stayed because of a liquidation and injunction order issued by the Delaware Court of Chancery.
February 13, 2024
EPA Issues New Final Rule Strengthening NAAQS For Fine Particulate Matter

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a new final rule that will strengthen the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter that will better protect the health of the general public from the dangerous health effects of this kind of air pollution.
February 13, 2024
2 Tribes File Climate Change Claims In Washington State Court

SEATTLE — The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe and the Makah Indian Tribe of Washington, two federally recognized Indian tribes, have filed nearly identical complaints against several of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, alleging that the companies’ efforts to mislead the public about the dangers of fossil fuel products have accelerated the harmful effects of climate change, which have in turn damaged the tribes’ people and land.
February 12, 2024
Insureds File Suit, Seek Coverage For Costs Incurred To Remediate Riverbank

SAN FRANCISCO — Insureds filed suit against their umbrella liability insurer in California federal court, alleging that the insurer breached its contract and acted in bad faith by relying on the policy’s pollution exclusion to deny coverage for costs incurred in remediating a riverbank.
February 09, 2024
EPA Proposes Listing 9 PFAS As Hazardous Substances Under RCRA

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on Feb. 8, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggests amending its regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to include nine specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous waste for the purposes of the law.
February 07, 2024
2nd Circuit: Prior Settlement Did Not Resolve All Liability Under CERCLA

NEW YORK — A 2011 settlement agreement did not entirely resolve Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act claims arising from the cleanup of a former manufacturing plant in the Onondaga Lake region of upstate New York because certain areas of the contaminated land were not specifically listed in the settlement agreement, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in reversing a trial court’s decision to dismiss the CERCLA claims brought by an environmental response trust against 39 manufacturers that allegedly contaminated the area.
February 07, 2024
Washington Federal Judge: Cultural Resource Damages Not Available Under CERCLA

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation are not entitled to cultural resource damages arising from a smelter’s alleged disposal of millions of tons of toxic slag and liquid effluent into the Columbia River because such damages are not available under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, a Washington federal judge found in granting the smelter’s motion for partial summary judgment on Feb. 6.
February 07, 2024
In Gold King Mine Case, Contractor Is Granted Summary Judgment On Negligence Claims

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A government contractor is entitled to summary judgment on claims of negligence and gross negligence brought against it for its involvement in the Gold King Mine release, which damaged waterways and land in several states, because the contractor owed no duty to New Mexico, the Navajo Nation or citizen plaintiffs under theories of misfeasance or nonfeasance, a New Mexico federal judge found in granting the contractor’s motion for partial summary judgment.
February 06, 2024
Coverage Owed For Some Fuel Spill Cleanup Based On Pollution Exclusion Wording

LAS VEGAS — An excess insurer owes coverage for fuel oil that spilled from a tractor because the excess policy’s pollution exclusion did not exclude coverage for cleanup costs stemming from a statutory or regulatory requirement, a Nevada federal judge said in finding that some of an insured’s cleanup costs are covered by the excess policy.
February 06, 2024
Insureds Appeal Pollution Exclusion Ruling In Carbon Monoxide Coverage Suit

BISMARCK, N.D. — Insureds filed a notice of appeal to the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, seeking review of a district judge’s finding that a pollution exclusion in their farmowners insurance policy excludes coverage for an underlying bodily injury suit arising out of carbon monoxide exposure at the insureds’ business.
February 05, 2024
Washington Federal Judge Denies Monsanto’s Summary Judgment Motion In PCB Case

SEATTLE — Monsanto Co. and several other companies are not entitled to summary judgment on claims arising from the alleged contamination of Seattle’s waterways with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) brought by the city because there are significant questions of material fact regarding causation, liability and damages, a Washington federal judge found Feb. 2 in denying the companies’ motion for summary judgment.
February 02, 2024
Mo. Federal Judge: State Law Claims Arising From Nuclear Incident Are Preempted

ST. LOUIS — In light of a recent Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals opinion, a Missouri federal judge found Feb. 1 that state law claims arising from alleged property damage caused by nuclear waste at two landfills must be dismissed because they are preempted by the Price-Anderson Act (PAA).
February 01, 2024
Calif. Federal Judge Grants Partial Summary Judgment In Pipeline Rupture Dispute

LOS ANGELES — Two companies that formerly operated an oil pipeline that ruptured and contaminated residential property in Southern California are entitled to summary judgment on several claims, including breach of written easement contracts brought by the owners of property that the pipeline crosses, a California federal judge found in partly granting the companies’ motion for partial summary judgment.
February 01, 2024
Consent Decree Filed To Resolve CWA Claims For Oil Spill That Damaged Indian Land

OKLAHOMA CITY — The United States and two oil companies filed a proposed consent decree in which the companies agreed to pay $7.4 million to resolve claims under the Clean Water Act (CWA) arising from a discharge of heavy crude oil from the companies’ Osage pipeline that contaminated a creek, as well as lands owned by members of the Sac and Fox Nation.