The court holds that the district court did not have subject matter jurisdiction under either the federal question statute or the Price-Anderson Act to consider a public liability action arising out of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident for recovery of punitive damages under state law. The court...

The court holds that a conveyance by a trustee in bankruptcy of a hazardous waste facility was not an impermissible abandonment of property designed to avoid cleanup liability and response costs incurred by Tennessee at the facility are not entitled to priority as administrative expenses under §503...

The court rules that §101(20)(A) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), which excludes from the definition of "owner or operator" of a hazardous substance disposal facility one holding indicia of ownership primarily to protect a security interest, doe...

In the toxic tort case concerning the Woburn, Massachusetts, toxic waste site, the court rules that plaintiffs may recover for emotional distress resulting from subclinical immune system damage, but not for distress resulting from illnesses suffered by family members, and that plaintiffs may recover...

The court holds that §18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and the Hazard Communication Standard do not preempt Akron's workplace right-to-know ordinance, and that the ordinance does not violate the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. The court first holds that §18...

The court rules that a conditional operating permit issued by the county air quality control board creates a property interest subject to procedural due process protection. The court holds, however, that the county did not deprive appellant of that property. A letter from an air quality control offi...

The court rules that the violation of a statutory requirement to obtain a permit or of the terms of a permit supports an action for negligence per se for contamination of plaintiff's groundwater by improper storage and disposal of hazardous waste. The court first notes that plaintiff's failure to br...

The court upholds in substantial part general national pollutant discharge elimination system permits for oil and gas drilling off Alaska that set best available technology (BAT) and best conventional technology (BCT) effluent limitations based on professional judgment. The permits, issued by the En...

In consolidated cases brought by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Conservation Law Foundation alleging that defendant sewer authority violated its national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit by discharging improperly treated and raw sewage into Boston Harbor, the ...

The court holds that environmental groups that challenged the adequacy of an environmental impact statement (EIS) for gypsy moth eradication programs are prevailing parties under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), but they are not entitled to attorney fees because the government's position was ...