Liebhart v. SPX Corp.
A district court held that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) being regulated under TSCA does not bar a Wisconsin couple from bringing a citizen suit under RCRA against a neighboring property owner for releasing PCBs during the demolition of a building on its property. The couple alleged that the demo...
Ecological Rights Foundation v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
The Ninth Circuit held that RCRA's "anti-duplication" provision does not preclude its application to stormwater discharges where EPA has not regulated them under the CWA. Concerned citizens brought a citizen suit against a utility company under RCRA, claiming it allowed harmful chemicals used to tre...
Environmental Protection in Indian Country: The Fundamentals
Tribes and Native villages are demonstrating reinvigorated environmental activism as they face new pressures on the natural resources many depend on for their economic and cultural livelihood. From the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, to Alaska Native villages relocating their communities in the face of rising sea levels, to impacts to the Navajo Nation from the closure of a major coal plant, there is a growing role for environmental attorneys in Indian country.
FMC Corp. v. Shosone-Bannock Tribes
A district court held that a tribal appellate court had the authority to impose permit fees on an operator of a phosphorus production plant. The plant sits on 1,450 acres of land lying mostly within Shoshone-Bannock Fort Hall Reservation, and produced 22 million tons of waste stored on the reservati...