News & Insights

Practice Area: Environmental

Federal Court Remands Unfair Trade Practices Lawsuit Against Exxon

The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut has granted the state’s remand motion in its case against Exxon Mobil for allegedly misleading the public about connections between its products and climate change, as well as alleged interference with the marketplace for renewable energy and “greenwashing.”  Connecticut v. Exxon Mobil Corp., No. 3:20-cv-1555…
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Holcim Reaches Settlement Over Alleged Illegal Leachate Discharges

On April 28, 2021, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed consent decree with the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York in the lawsuit entitled United States and State of New York v. Holcim (US) Inc., CV No. 1:21-cv-490.  The United States and the State of New York filed the…
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Supreme Court Dismisses Florida’s Case Against Georgia Over Water Use In The Apalachicola Chattahoochee Flint River Basin

In an April 1, 2021 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Florida’s claims against Georgia in a long-running dispute over the use of water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river basin. State of Florida v. State of Georgia, 141 S.Ct. 1175 (2021).  The court rejected Florida’s request for an order requiring Georgia to reduce its…
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Navigable Waters Protection Rule Does Not Require Dismissal Of Cwa Case

This Clean Water Act (CWA) case arose from the 2007 disposal of fill from Defendants’ property (containing purported wetlands) allegedly into “waters of the United States.”  United States v. Acquest Transit LLC, No. 09-CV-55S, 2021 WL 809984, at *13 (W.D.N.Y. Mar. 3, 2021).  The underlying issue is whether that property contained wetlands that are part of “waters of…
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Mississippi Federal District Court Rules Supreme Court Decision In Maui Does Not Apply To Toxic Spill In Clean Water Act Case

Plaintiffs in Melton Properties, et al. v. Illinois Central Railroad, 2020 WL 7335018 (N.D. Miss.) recently argued the Supreme Court’s decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 140 S. Ct. 1462 (2020), overrules the 5th Circuit’s precedent in Hamker v. Diamond, 756 F.2d 392 (5th Cir. 1995). Plaintiffs are property owners or farmers near the site…
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United States Supreme Court Will Hear A Case Seeking Guidance On The Applicable Statute Of Limitations In A Cercla Contribution Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear litigation concerning which section of the law, and their different statutes of limitations, parties must use when seeking to recoup Superfund cleanup costs.  The case, Guam v. United States, Case No. 20-382, is slated to be heard in the Court’s upcoming term. In 2017, Guam sued the…
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Epa Issues Guidance Memorandum On County Of Maui’s Functional Equivalent Test

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a Draft Guidance Memorandum following the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund.  139 S.Ct. 1164 (2019).  This Guidance Memo attempts to give regulators and source owners additional clarity as to when the functional equivalent test should be applied.  County of…
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Seventh Circuit Will Decide Supreme Court Impact On Groundwater Dispute

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will soon have the opportunity to apply the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund ruling to a long-running dispute between an environmental group and the owner of a coal-fired power plant. 140 S.Ct. 1462 (2020).  The case is Prairie Rivers Network v. Dynegy…
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D.C. Circuit Refuses To Impose Deadline On Epa To Submit Tmdl

The United States District Court for the D.C. Circuit has denied an environmental advocacy group’s motion to reconsider the Court’s 2018 ruling giving Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) discretion as to how to establish a new “total maximum daily load” (“TMDL”) for trash in the Anacostia River.  Plaintiff Natural Resources Defense Council (“NRDC”) argued little progress…
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Third Circuit Holds Cercla Contribution Claims Not Extinguished By State Cleanup Settlement

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled a potentially responsible party’s (PRP) settlement with New Jersey resolving its state-law liability in connection with contamination at a municipal landfill did not protect it from third-party lawsuits seeking contribution toward expenditures made by EPA on the same site.  New Jersey Department of Environmental…
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