PPG Industries Inc. v. United States
The Third Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that the U.S. government was not liable to a coatings company for cleanup costs at a chromite ore processing plant with which it was involved during World War I and World War II. The district court concluded the government was not subject to operato...
Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the Montana high court's ruling in a lawsuit concerning cleanup actions across a 300-square-mile Superfund site in Butte. Landowners whose properties are located within the site brought trespass, nuisance, and strict liability claims under ...
A Game Changer in the Making? Lessons From States Advancing Environmental Justice Through Mapping and Cumulative Impact Strategies
This Article focuses on lessons learned from state practice in environmental justice (EJ) mapping and screening, and their relationship to the central issue of cumulative impacts—the reality that EJ communities typically suffer from a concentration of pollution sources and negative land uses as well as health and social vulnerabilities. These lessons are based on work in California and the development, use, and impact of the California Environmental Protection Agency’s CalEnviroScreen tool; the Article also examines the U.S.
Friends of Buckingham v. State Air Pollution Control Board
The Fourth Circuit vacated the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board's approval of a permit for construction of a compressor station associated with a natural gas pipeline in an historically African-American community. Environmental groups argued that the Board erred in failing to make any findings r...