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Federal Oil Pollution Law and Regulatory Developments

Editors' Summary: Whether Congress intended it or not, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) has shaken the entire oil exploration and production industry to its core. Precipitated by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Act represents Congress' decision to create a regulatory framework for preventing oil spills and for responding to actual or threatened discharges of oil into U.S. waters, and to change the historical limits on civil and criminal liability to a degree that will almost certainly cause some industry participants to discontinue doing business in the offshore area.

Tribes as States: Indian Tribal Authority to Regulate and Enforce Federal Environmental Laws and Regulations

Editors' Summary: The principles of federalism, state primacy, and tribal sovereignty all impact how federal environmental regulations are implemented and enforced on Indian lands. In recent years, Congress increasingly has crafted environmental protection laws that expressly provide recognized tribes with mechanisms for assuming authority to operate programs under those statutes, similar to provisions for states to obtain such authority. Yet many important federal environmental laws leave uncertain the role of Indian tribes in enforcing federal regulations on Indian lands.

Preenforcement, Preimplementation, and Postcompletion Preclusion of Judicial Review Under CERCLA

Editors' Summary: CERCLA § 113(h) sets forth limits on the timing for review in federal courts of EPA hazardous waste removal and remedial actions. To prevent delays in cleaning up hazardous waste sites, EPA and the courts have interpreted § 113(h) as shielding any disputes under CERCLA from judicial scrutiny until EPA commences a cleanup action. This Article inquires into the conflict between constitutional due process and interpreting CERCLA § 113(h) as a shield that insulates EPA preenforcement, preimplementation, and post-completion cleanup activities from judicial review.

Concerned Citizens of Nebraska v. NRC

In a suit raising constitutional challenges to the siting of a regional low-level radioactive waste disposal facility, the court holds that freedom from environmental releases of nonnatural radiation is not a fundamental, unenumerated right protected by the Ninth Amendment, and differences in the fe...

Critical Mass Energy Project v. NRC

The court rules that Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act shields from public disclosure comprehensive reports, prepared and provided to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by a nonprofit consortium of the nuclear utility industry, concerning the safety and reliability of operations at n...

Diamond Waste, Inc. v. Monroe County

The court holds that a landfill operator is entitled to a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of a county ordinance that regulates the transport of out-of-county waste into the county, and the operator may proceed on procedural and substantive due process claims against the county. The co...

Bituminous Casualty Corp. v. Vacuum Tanks, Inc.

The court holds that an insurer does not have the duty to defend a policyholder against a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) claim where evidence of the policies' existence is available, but where evidence of the policies' terms was not presented despite a...

Clarkstown v. C&A Carbone, Inc.

The court holds that a local law that requires all nonrecyclable solid waste generated in town to be delivered to the town's transfer station for processing and disposal is constitutional, and affirms a decision enjoining a local recycling facility that separates solid waste into recyclable and nonr...

Edison Elec. Inst. v. EPA

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) failed to justify application of its toxicity characteristic rule to mineral processing and electric utility wastes, and remands portions of the rule to the Agency for further proceedings. In the Resource Conservation ...

Daniel v. Santa Barbara, County of

The court affirms a district court decision that a county's 1998 acceptance of a 1987 irrevocable offer to dedicate a portion of beachfront property was not a taking of the current owner's property. The court first holds that the prior owners of the property that made offers to dedicate to the count...