The court holds that the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) bars a current property owner's claim for cleanup costs against the property's former owner. The current owner filed a claim for injunctive relief against the former owner, and then proceeded to clean up the property before relie...

The court upholds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) decision to add coal and oil-burning electricity-generating facilities to the list of facilities subject to toxic release inventory (TRI) reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). ...

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) use of the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) to measure compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) treatment standard for spent potliner is arbitrary and capricious. Spent potliner is a byp...

The court dismisses strict liability, nuisance, trespass, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) claims filed against the former sublessee of contaminated property where an underground storage tank (UST) leaked. The former sublessee operated a gasoline station at the site, which was next ...

A district court held that a bank may go forward with its CERCLA and negligence claims against engineering and remediation companies that prepared and implemented an environmental remediation plan for property in which the bank holds an interest, but it dismissed the bank's strict liability and negl...

A district court held that a developer may be liable under CERCLA for response costs the former owner of contaminated property incurred at the site. The developer, who now owns the site, filed suit against the former owner to enforce an administrative order on consent that requires the former owner ...

A district court held that the FWS violated NEPA, but not the ESA, when it issued a special rule that specifies the protective mechanisms that apply to the polar bear as a result of its threatened status. In May 2008, the FWS listed the polar bear as threatened under the ESA. The Service then issued...

The court holds that insurance companies have a duty to defend an insured chemical company under its comprehensive general liability (CGL) policies against claims by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for response costs and natural resource damages under the Comprehensive Environmental R...

The court holds that a pollution exclusion clause in a comprehensive general liability insurance policy does not bar an insured county's right to indemnification of amounts that it must pay in lawsuits resulting from pollution from a landfill. The clause provided that the insurer was not obligated t...

The court holds that a local ordinance imposing geographic restrictions on the sources of waste for a regional medical waste incinerator does not violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. A commercial enterprise obtained authorization to construct a medical waste incinerator, and after c...