In an unpublished opinion, a New Jersey appellate court held that the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act (Spill Act) does not contain a "triggering notice" in order for liability to attach. Rather, a party seeking contribution must prove a nexus or "reasonable link between the discharge, ...

A district court remanded to state court personal injury and property damage claims brought by hundreds of individuals against an oil company in connection with their alleged exposure to contamination from oil field pipe. The case was originally filed in state court in 2002. It was then removed to f...

A district court held that the developers of the proposed Pebble copper and gold mine in Alaska who filed a Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) claim against EPA following the Agency's initiation of CWA §404(c) proceedings may not seek discovery from non-parties that appeared before EPA in connec...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that BLM complied with NEPA and FLPMA in allowing the construction of a utility-scale wind project in California's Sonoran Desert. BLM sufficiently evaluated and disclosed the environmental impacts of the wind energy facility project under NEPA. Envi...

A Washington court held that the public trust doctrine applies to the protection of the atmosphere, including limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but denied minors' petitions for stricter GHG regulations because the state agency has already commenced rulemaking. The court held that the state h...

A district court denied oil and gas companies' motions to dismiss claims that their use and handling of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) has contaminated, or threatens to contaminate, groundwater in Puerto Rico. The companies argued that Puerto Rico's island-wide claims for relief should be dismis...