A district court held that an insurer is not liable for damages in connection with environmental cleanup costs stemming from a biofuel firm's recycling of catfish and other oils. The biofuel firm entered into a fat, oil, and grease recycling agreement (FOG) with a catfish company and rented property...

The Iowa Supreme Court held that neighbors of an Iowa corn processing plant were properly certified as a class to pursue pollution claims against the operator. The neighbors filed a suit under state nuisance, trespass, and negligence law, claiming air pollution from the plant interfered with the use...

The D.C. Circuit held that the federal government is not required to reveal the location of water wells under an exemption to FOIA. A environmental group dedicated to protecting the Northern California ecosystem and watersheds filed FOIA requests seeking copies of all documents related to water tran...

A district court found that an Indiana Superfund law allows for contribution claims even though the law does not directly reference them. In 2013, a hardware manufacturing company was found liable by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) for releases of hazardous substances on an...

The Ninth Circuit held that FWS and the Forest Service did not violate the National Forest Management Act when they approved the thinning of trees and undergrowth from portions of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The case involved a Revised Recovery Plan that specified guidelines for protection o...

The Ninth Circuit held that NMFS and DOI did not violate NEPA or the ESA when they approved the use of hatcheries to restore Elwha River fish populations in the state of Washington, after a dam removal project. Environmental groups challenged the decision to approve the hatchery as arbitrary and cap...

A New Jersey appellate court ruled that an insurance company must indemnify a realty company for soil removal connected to groundwater contamination at one of its properties. By merger, the realty company became the successor in ownership to a property that had been leased to a recycling company. Fo...

A Pennsylvania court denied an insurer's motion for summary judgment, holding that it had no obligation to defend or indemnify toxic waste claims against its policyholder that occurred after the end of its policy. The policyholder was insured by the defendant from 1969 to 1979. In 2010, the Pennsylv...

A Pennsylvania court denied an insurer's motion for summary judgment, holding that it had no obligation to defend or indemnify toxic waste claims against its policyholder that occurred after the end of its policy. The policyholder was insured by the defendant from 1969 to 1979. In 2010, the Pennsylv...

A district court found that the National Park Service (NPS) took a “hard look” at environmental impacts when it approved an oil and gas company's seismic survey in a Florida nature preserve. The oil and gas company requested that NPS allow it to conduct seismic tests in the Big Cypress National ...