The U.S. Supreme Court, in an unsigned judgment and decree, ordered Wyoming to pay Montana $20,340 in damages, plus $67,270.87 in costs, for reducing the amount of water available in the Tongue River in violation of the Yellowstone River Compact. The Compact protects pre-1950 appropriative rights to...
A district court held that residents of the West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago cannot intervene in a CERCLA settlement agreement after the agreement was approved. In 2016, residents of the housing complex were told to evacuate the complex because of severe contamination from the USS Lead S...
A district court dismissed CERCLA claims against a construction company because there was no evidence that its actions contributed to soil contamination near the site. A contractor purchased topsoil from a company that is adjacent to a road where the construction company installed a water main three...
A district court held that a government contractor may be liable under CERCLA in connection with the Gold King mine spill in Colorado. In 2016, the contractor caused a breach that released more than 3 million gallons of acid mine drainage and 880,000 pounds of heavy metals into the Animas River wate...
The New Jersey Superior Court upheld an oil company's $225 million Spill Act settlement in connection with contamination at two oil refineries in Bayonne and Linden, New Jersey. The natural resources damages were estimated at $8.9 billion. In a settlement agreement, the New Jersey Department of Envi...
The Arizona Court of Appeals held that a tribe may proceed with its nuisance claim against a ski resort for its use of reclaimed wastewater to make artificial snow. In 2002, the ski resort contracted to purchase reclaimed wastewater for the purpose of making artificial snow. In 2005, the Forest Serv...
The Tenth Circuit ruled that an Oklahoma citizen has no claim against an oil company on allegations that his cancer was caused by decades of breathing benzene fumes from its oil refinery near his home. In 2011, the man was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. In 2016, he brought suit against the oil com...
A Pennsylvania court affirmed a lower court decision dismissing residents' and an environmental group's lawsuit challenging the construction of a natural gas pipeline through a suburban township. The plaintiffs argued that a local zoning ordinance prohibits the construction of hazardous gas and liqu...