The D.C. Circuit dismissed a nonprofit group's petition to review DOE's rule concerning the designation of critical electric infrastructure information. The group argued the rule exceeded DOE's authority under §215A of the Federal Power Act, was arbitrary and capricious, and was promulgated in viol...

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a settlement of environmental liabilities must resolve a CERCLA-specific liability to give rise to a contribution action under §113(f)(3)(B), in a lawsuit concerning a landfill in Guam formerly owned by the U.S. Navy. After entering into a consent decree...

A district court granted summary judgment for a utility company in a lawsuit concerning groundwater discharges from coal ash ponds at its power plant in Kentucky. Environmental groups argued that the discharges threatened immediate and substantial environmental harm to a nearby lake and streams, in ...

A district court dismissed a RCRA citizen suit brought against present and former owners of chemical plants for allegedly releasing radioactive slag deposited on landowners' properties in New York. The landowners sought injunctive relief under RCRA, including ordering the plant owners to evaluate ea...

The D.C. Circuit denied petitions to review three FERC orders concerning cost sharing for certain upgrades to the Mid-Atlantic electricity transmission grid. Petitioners argued the Commission departed from precedent without adequate explanation, made findings that were not supported by substantial e...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling in a lawsuit concerning the U.S. government's and California's recovery of cleanup costs from a hazardous waste spill in the Sierra Nevada foothills that released toxic amounts of arsenic into local groundwater. Plaintiffs sued the company that had acq...

The Tenth Circuit upheld a lower court ruling ordering mining and finance companies to comply with EPA's requests for information related to cleanup of a contaminated site in Utah. The companies argued that EPA exceeded its authority under CERCLA when it issued the information requests, the requests...

A district court held that an oil company was liable for a plume of gasoline beneath a former gasoline station that was migrating toward nearby housing units in White Plains, New York. A housing authority brought claims under RCRA, arguing its property was contaminated by discharges of gasoline and ...

The Third Circuit held that a PRP's settlement with New Jersey resolving its state-law liability in connection with contamination at a municipal landfill did not protect the party from lawsuits seeking contribution toward expenditures made by EPA on the same site. The district court had concluded th...

The Maine Supreme Court held unconstitutional a state ballot initiative that proposed to reverse a Maine Public Utilities Commission order granting a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a 145-mile transmission line in New England. A power company argued the initiative violated the Ma...