The Eleventh Circuit held that parties subject to a consent decree may not file claims for cost recovery under §107(a) of CERCLA and that their remedies are limited to filing claims for contribution under CERCLA §113(f). If a party subject to a consent decree could simply repackage its §113(f...

A district court dismissed an oil refiner's CERCLA action against a recycling company for costs it incurred responding to PCB contamination allegedly resulting from used oil that was delivered from the company's facility to the refinery. The claim fails because there has been no release or thre...

The First Circuit affirmed a lower court decision holding a manufacturing company liable under CERCLA for response costs EPA incurred at the Fletcher's Paint Works and Storage Facility Superfund site in Milford, New Hampshire. The lower court properly ruled that the company was liable as a...

The Seventh Circuit held that automobile owners should not be held liable under CERCLA for costs incurred responding to automobile accidents. The case was brought by the billing agent of a fire department that sought response costs from individuals who were involved in motor vehicle accidents an...

A district court dismissed a property owner's CERCLA claim for costs incurred responding to PCB contamination allegedly caused by an oil recycling company. The owner alleged that the company spilled PCBs on the site. But the $800,000 in costs purportedly incurred are not related to the alleged r...

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A district court dismissed a property owner's contribution action against a railroad company for failure to state a claim. The property owner failed to allege any facts that explain why the company is liable for a portion of the site cleanup. It failed to explain how the company came to be invol...

The Second Circuit held that a lower court should have granted a chemical manufacturer's request for declaratory judgment against adjoining property owners under CERCLA for future costs it will incur cleaning up industrial pollution. The manufacturer sued the two adjoining property owners for c...

A district court held that Washington state must establish reasonably available control technology (RACT) for greenhouse gas emissions. Based on its plain language, the RACT provision contained in Washington's federally approved SIP is not discretionary and requires the state's agencies to estab...

A California court held that the California Air Resources Board's "functional equivalent document" and scoping plan to reduce greenhouse gases as it relates to cap and trade complies with the California Environmental Quality Act. The court therefore lifted its May 20, 2011, peremptory writ of man...