The court holds that a private plaintiff that alleges that it is an innocent landowner under CERCLA §101(35) may pursue recovery of cleanup costs without first being held legally liable, and plaintiff's state causes of action are not time barred by the statute of limitations. The court first holds ...

The court generally upholds the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) effluent limitations under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) for the organic chemicals, plastics, and synthetic fibers (OCPSF) industries against challenges by industry and an environmental group. Turning first t...

The court holds that the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) waives the Department of Defense's (DOD's) sovereign immunity for damages resulting from a contractor's improper disposal of DOD's hazardous waste. The court first holds that the FTCA's discretionary function exemption does not exempt DOD's haz...

The court holds that under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator may cancel registration of a pesticide upon a finding of significant probability that undesirable consequences to the environment may occur. The court first h...

The court holds that a waste disposal service's conviction for violating the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act (SWMA) was supported by the evidence and no Fourth Amendment violation occurred even though the state agent who personally observed the violations entered the service's property witho...

The court rules that civil penalties assessed under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) and Clean Air Act are not deductible as ordinary business expenses under the Internal Revenue Code. Internal Revenue Code §162(f) precludes the deduction of "any fine or similar penalty paid to a gov...

The court holds that only the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals has jurisdiction to hear a landfill owner's challenge of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) determination that a state-issued Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit is inconsistent with RCRA. Althoug...

The court holds that an environmental group is entitled to attorney fees for work done on two issues on which it prevailed against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but not for work on a third issue on which EPA and the environmental group took substantially the same position. The environme...

The court holds that the Air Force's environmental impact statement (EIS) for its transfer of 16 airplanes from Delaware to Massachusetts is adequate. The court first holds that the EIS adequately discussed alternatives to the proposed move. The Air Force properly excluded from consideration five ot...

The court holds that a township ordinance limiting development in "critical areas," including wetlands, is constitutional and is not preempted by the New Jersey Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act. However, the section of the ordinance reducing the permissible area available for development on proper...