A district court held that genuine issues of material fact preclude a grant of summary judgment in a petroleum distributor's contribution claim against an oil company for costs incurred cleaning up hazardous substance contamination at a gas station and bulk petroleum storage plant formerly leased by...

A district court stayed a bankrupt mining company's contribution claims against various defendants for response costs and natural resource damages incurred in connection with the Tri-States Mining District until the amount of total liabilities are determined. The Tri-States area, where lead and zinc...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of an insurance company's subrogation suit for recovery of insurance payments made to its insured for environmental response costs the insured incurred cleaning up pollutants released on its property. The company claimed that the defendants should be held joint...

A Michigan appellate court held that Michigan's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act does not preempt a local ordinance requiring all septic tank waste collected from within a township to be taken to a specific treatment facility. Although the state legislature enacted a comprehensive ...

A California appellate court upheld a lower court decision preliminarily enjoining a county from enforcing a voter-approved ballot measure banning the use of agricultural fertilizer made from recycled municipal sewage sludge in unincorporated areas of the county. The application of this fertilizer, ...

The D.C. Circuit held that NRC's transfer of authority to New Jersey over nuclear materials within the state was arbitrary and capricious. The NRC may transfer regulatory authority over classes of nuclear materials located within a state to the government of that state. But here, the agency failed t...

The Fourth Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, affirmed a lower court decision dismissing an electronic manufacturer's CERCLA claim against the United States for costs it incurred cleaning up tricholoroethylene (TCE) contamination on a parcel of property in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The manufact...

The Eleventh Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, held that recycled carpet waste, known as carpet selvedge, is a "recovered material" that has the potential for reuse and not a solid waste under RCRA or Georgia law. Accordingly, a carpet manufacturer that sent carpet selvedge to a site for recycling...

The Ninth Circuit upheld DOT's decision ordering a hazardous waste motor carrier to cease operations following an unsatisfactory safety rating. The carrier argued that the unsatisfactory safety rating on which the cessation order was based was premised on the misapplication of certain safety regulat...

The Louisiana Supreme Court held that a school district may seek remediation damages in excess of those required by state law from oil companies who engaged in oil exploration and production operations on school land. The district sought two types of damages: damages required under state law pursuan...