The court holds that Louisiana has standing in its quasi-sovereign capacity to challenge the Secretary of Commerce's regulations requiring shrimp trawlers to reduce the incidental catch of sea turtles by using turtle exclusion devices (TEDs), and that the regulations are not arbitrary and capricious...

The court holds that Minnesota's wetland's mapping and inventory statute does not violate due process and that the statute's reservation of existing water rights does not allow a permit applicant to enlarge or rebuild a private drainage ditch and drain a protected wetland on his property. The applic...

The court holds that, subject to a good cause exception, the provisions of a directive requiring a landfill operator to fund a remedial investigation/feasibility study or face treble damages for noncompliance are valid under the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act. The court applies the in...

The court holds that petitioner's challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) "block average" method of determining compliance with the Clean Air Act's national ambient air quality standards for sulfur dioxide is not ripe for review. In PPG Industries, Inc. v. Costle, 11 ELR 20858, th...

The court holds a chemical company that disposed of hazardous waste liable for contamination of drinking water, but orders the district court below to recalculate the amount of damages. The court first finds that it has subject matter jurisdiction over the case. Although the defendant properly chall...

The court rules that sale of a product containing a hazardous contaminant does not automatically subject the seller to liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). A utility that was held liable under CERCLA in connection with the disposal of el...

The court holds that in a Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) citizen suit, civil penalties ordinarily should not be granted for violations committed before the complaint is filed, but the precomplaint violations will be considered in assessment of the overall penalty. In light of the Suprem...

The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is barred from bringing an enforcement action against an alleged violator of a state implementation plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act until EPA acts on a proposed revision of the SIP, where EPA has delayed acting on the revision more th...

The court holds that pesticide ingredient manufacturers can be held liable under §107(a)(3) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for response costs at a site owned by a "downstream" formulator. The language of the statute and the legislative history ...

The court holds that a water utility cannot recover damages under §107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for economic losses resulting from injury to an aquifer where plaintiff's legally authorized water supply was neither contaminated nor reduced...