The court holds that the installer of an underground heating oil storage tank may be held liable as an "operator" under the Pennsylvania Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act (STSPA) for the ongoing nuisance created by an alleged release from the tank. The court first holds that this case does not i...
A magistrate judge holds that the U.S. Department of the Air Force abused its discretion when it failed to include the impact of a new state-managed air-to-ground training range in an environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to evaluate the env...
The court holds that a county ordinance that imposed a moratorium on landfills did not exact a taking from a landowner or violate the landowner's substantive and procedural due process rights. The court invalidated the ordinance in a prior ruling. The court first holds that it reviews the district c...
The court holds that a Minnesota statute that controls the flow of solid waste in the state violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The statute establishes a hierarchy of waste management techniques and requires all Minnesota counties to choose a preferred waste management technique f...
The court holds that provisions of Indiana's Environmental Compliance Plans Act (ECPA) that favor a utility's use of Indiana coal violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The ECPA allows a utility to seek an early review by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) of the utility...
The court holds that provisions of Indiana's Environmental Compliance Plans Act (ECPA) that favor a utility's use of Indiana coal violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The ECPA allows a utility to seek an early review by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) of the utility...
The court holds that a contribution claim under the 1989 Washington state Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) against a railroad reorganized in bankruptcy is not subject to a 1985 claims bar date. The claim arose out of an environmental cleanup of a railyard located within the Commencement Bay/Nearshore...
The court grants a preliminary injunction to restrain enforcement of New Jersey's flow control regulations for construction and demolition (C&D) debris and to require implementation of an alternative state regulatory plan. The regulations required some types of debris not separated into recyclab...
The court dismisses strict liability, negligence, and trespass claims that a past owner of a site containing corroded underground gasoline storage tanks brought against another past owner and the successors to past lessees of the site. The court first finds that there are no genuine issues of fact t...
The court holds that the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not bar a citizen group that was denied attorney fees by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality from asserting a Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) claim against the state agency in federal court. The ...