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 48, Issue 6
The Tenth Circuit ruled that an Oklahoma citizen has no claim against an oil company on allegations that his cancer was caused by decades of breathing benzene fumes from its oil refinery near his home. In 2011, the man was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.
A district court held that EPA's year-long delay in implementing formaldehyde emission standards for domestically manufactured and imported composite wood products violated the Formaldehyde Standards in Composite Wood Products Act.
The Arizona Court of Appeals held that a tribe may proceed with its nuisance claim against a ski resort for its use of reclaimed wastewater to make artificial snow. In 2002, the ski resort contracted to purchase reclaimed wastewater for the purpose of making artificial snow.
The New Jersey Superior Court upheld an oil company's $225 million Spill Act settlement in connection with contamination at two oil refineries in Bayonne and Linden, New Jersey. The natural resources damages were estimated at $8.9 billion.
A district court held that a government contractor may be liable under CERCLA in connection with the Gold King mine spill in Colorado.
A district court dismissed CERCLA claims against a construction company because there was no evidence that its actions contributed to soil contamination near the site.
A district court held that residents of the West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago cannot intervene in a CERCLA settlement agreement after the agreement was approved.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in an unsigned judgment and decree, ordered Wyoming to pay Montana $20,340 in damages, plus $67,270.87 in costs, for reducing the amount of water available in the Tongue River in violation of the Yellowstone River Compact.
The Ninth Circuit held that NOAA did not go beyond its authority when it took climate change into account when considering the ESA status of the Arctic ringed seal. In 2012, NOAA listed the Arctic ringed seal as threatened based on projected sea ice loss.
The D.C. Circuit held that EPA unlawfully revoked the 1997 ozone NAAQS when it implemented the 2008 standard. In 2008, EPA set the ozone NAAQS at 75 parts per billion (ppb).