State v. Wahkiakum County
A Washington State appellate court held that a county ordinance banning the land application of the most common class of biosolids is unconstitutional. The state' s biosolids program was created in 1992 to facilitate and encourage recycling, rather than disposal, of sewage waste, and the state's env...
Tamosaitis v. URS Inc.
The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court's grant of summary judgment in favor of an energy construction company for whistleblower retaliation against an employee in a case concerning cleanup efforts of nuclear waste at the Hanford Nuclear site in Washington state. The “opt-out” provision of the ...
Tronox, Inc. v. Anadarko Petroleum Co.
A district court approved a $5.15 billion settlement agreement—the largest such recovery in American history—resolving two lawsuits in which a spin-off company and the U.S. government asserted fraudulent transfer and other claims against an energy company and its parent. In 2006, the energy comp...
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Inc. v. Fola Coal Co., LLC
A district court held that an environmental group may seek injunctive relief and civil penalties against a mining company previously held liable for the unpermitted discharge of selenium into U.S. waters even though the company has since obtained new permits allowing such discharges. The company arg...