The court affirms a district court grant of summary judgment in favor of a manufacturer alleged to have contributed to a Michigan river's polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) contamination. An association of potentially responsible parties claimed that PCBs in the manufacturer's drainage ditch leaked int...
The court holds that individual condominium owners may not assert the innocent landowner defense in their Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) action against the property's former owners. The individual owners initially purchased the property as a partnershi...
The court holds that a company's cleanup of a polychlorinated biphenyl- and lead-contaminated site in Colorado was not consistent with the national contingency plan (NCP). Thus, the company is not entitled to contribution from other responsible parties. The court first holds that the district court ...
The court affirms, but on different grounds, a district court decision dismissing corporations' contribution claim under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) against several potentially responsible parties (PRPs) for response costs incurred at the Sulliv...
The court holds that the former owner and operator of a refinery may not bring cost recovery or contribution actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) against the subsequent and current owners. The court first holds that the former owner is a pe...
The court vacates a district court's allocation of contribution costs a coating company must pay for cleanup costs incurred by another potentially responsible party (PRP) at the Fisher-Calo site in Indiana. Although the coating company sent nine percent and the PRP sent approximately 71 percent of t...
The court holds that neither an amended Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) consent decree between a waste handler and the United States nor a previous trust agreement with other CERCLA defendants bound a waste handler to sign a new trust agreement. The dis...
The court holds that a nonsettling potentially responsible party (PRP) must pay a portion of past and future remediation costs incurred by settling PRPs at the Sullivan's Ledge site in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Relying on the jury's findings, the court first holds that the nonsettling party must p...
The court holds that a railroad company lessor is barred from recovering economic losses and property damages associated with hazardous waste contamination on its leased site. The court first holds that the lessor's claim for economic losses and property damages under the Minnesota Environmental Res...
This Article discusses the original goals of Agenda 211 related to achieving "environmentally sound" solid waste management and reviews U.S. activities and policies with regard to solid waste over the last decade. Of greatest interest to the public and the media has been municipal solid waste (MSW)—ordinary household, commercial and institutional garbage or trash. Overall, the record of the United States in achieving sustainable solid waste management, including steady state or decreasing levels of waste generation and disposal, is mixed.