The cases listed below appear in the most recent issue of ELR's Weekly Update. For cases previously reported, please use the filter on the left.
Volume 41, Issue 15
The First Circuit held that the U.S. Coast Guard violated NEPA when it issued regulations that preempt state environmental law with respect to tank vessels in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.
The Third Circuit denied environmental groups' petition for review of an NRC decision granting a license renewal for the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station.
A district court, on a motion to amend judgment, extended the FWS' deadline for completing its biological opinion (BiOp) for the threatened delta smelt as well as the Bureau of Reclamation's deadline to complete review of the FWS' reasonable and prudent alternative (RPA) under
The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court decision denying the award of attorney fees to an environmental group in their lawsuit against a town for discharging toxic pollutants into a bay in violation of the CWA.
The First Circuit held that property owners have standing to challenge a settlement agreement entered into between a town and a telecommunications company over the construction of a 100-foot cell phone tower.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision excluding expert witness testimony in homeowners' toxic tort case against an oil company for benzene exposure. The homeowners alleged claims of strict liability for hazardous activity, negligence, and loss of consortium.
The Third Circuit held that a property owner's nuisance, negligence, and strict liability claims against a neighboring landfill are not continuing torts and, thus, are barred by the statute of limitations.
The Ninth Circuit, in an amended opinion, held that stormwater runoff from logging roads that is collected by and then discharged from a system of ditches, culverts, and channels is a point source discharge for which an NPDES permit is required.
A district court, on motions for reconsideration and for leave to amend counterclaims, held that a gas company may seek recovery costs under CERCLA and the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act against the plaintiffs in the case.
A district court dismissed an oil refiner's CERCLA action against a recycling company for costs it incurred responding to PCB contamination allegedly resulting from used oil that was delivered from the company's facility to the refinery.