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The Superfund Reform Act of 1994: Success or Failure Is Within EPA's Sole Discretion

Editors' Summary: The Clinton Administration's proposed Superfund amendments—the Superfund Reform Act of 1994 (SRA)—were introduced in both the House and Senate in early February. Steven M. Jawetz of Beveridge & Diamond, reviews several key provisions of the bill's first five titles, including proposals to increase delegation to states, narrow defenses to EPA administrative orders and cost recovery actions, institute a nonbinding allocation process, and modify the remedy selection process. Mr.

The Reauthorization of Superfund: The Public Works Alternative

The demise of efforts by a broadly based coalition of stakeholders to reauthorize Superfund in the 103rd Congress leaves the legislative field open for reconsidering all the key assumptions underlying the "consensus" bill that dominated last year's debate. Unless the coalition remains unified, and the Administration supports it aggressively, the substance will begin to unravel, the process will become chaotic, and Congress could easily miss the December 1995 deadline to reauthorize the statute.

<i>Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc. v. EPA</i>: Why It Is Important

Editors' Summary: On February 28, 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated and remanded portions of EPA's concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) rule. The ruling was not a win for either side of the debate, as it requires permitting authorities to review and incorporate nutrient management plans into their permits, but prevents EPA from requiring CAFOs to apply for permits based solely on their potential to discharge pollutants to U.S. waters.

Costner v. URS Consultants, Inc.

The court affirms in part and reverses in part a district court decision holding that environmental groups could bring False Claims Act (FCA) claims against contractors at a Superfund site in Arkansas. In a qui tam action brought on behalf of the United States, environmental groups allege that the c...

Bayou Liberty Ass'n v. Corps of Eng'rs

The court holds that an environmental group is not entitled to a preliminary injunction suspending a proposed retail development's construction permit and ordering the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) addressing the development's impact on flooding. The...

Carter-Jones Lumber Co. v. Dixie Distrib. Co.

The court holds a company and its president liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for arranging for the disposal of hazardous waste. Through several transactions, the company and its president sold transformers containing polychlorinated biph...

Bragg v. Robertson

The court upholds as reasonable and fair a settlement agreement in a citizen suit challenging the federal government's failure to perform Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) duties concerning mountaintop mining in West Virginia. The agreement purported to settle environmental groups' claims ...

Driscoll v. Adams

The court holds a landowner liable under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) for discharging polluted stormwater without a permit into a stream on his property that flows into ponds on his neighbors' property. The discharges occurred when the landowner was harvesting timber and developin...

Canadyne-Georgia Corp. v. NationsBank, N.A.

The court reverses a district court order that dismissed a property owner's Comprehensive Environmental Response. Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Georgia Hazardous Site Response Act contribution claims against a bank for failure to state a claim. The bank served as a trustee of a trust ...

Freeman v. Glaxo Wellcome, Inc.

The court holds that a pharmaceutical company that sold unused chemicals to a vitamin manufacturing facility is not a party liable for contribution under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The court first finds that the definition of "disposal" contai...