Lovejoy v. Amcox Oil and Gas, LLC
A district court granted in part and denied in part a pipeline owner's motion for summary judgment in a CERCLA suit brought by the owner of land where the pipeline is located in West Virginia. The landowner alleged that the pipeline leaked and contaminated her soil and groundwater, and sought to rec...
Gold King Mine Release in San Juan County County, Colorado, on August 5, 2015
A district court granted a federal contractor's motion for partial summary judgment in a CERCLA liability suit brought by the state of New Mexico and a Native American reservation concerning Gold King Mine's release of millions of gallons of contaminated water into nearby rivers in 2015. The contrac...
United States v. Union Oil Co. of California
In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the U.S. government in a CERCLA liability lawsuit, requiring oil companies to reimburse approximately $50 million of EPA's environmental cleanup costs at a Superfund site in California. The government had sought reimbursement...
Achieving “Some” Upfront Certainty and Resolve in Superfund Settlements
Superfund practitioners are waiting to see whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will designate perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate, two chemicals in the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) group, as CERCLA hazardous substances. Such a designation may lead to selected remedies being modified and further work being required at Superfund sites where remedies were believed to be complete. This Article explores potential future liability by reviewing provisions of the 2021 Remedial Design/Remedial Action (RD/RA) Model Consent Decree.
Annual Review of Chinese Environmental Law Developments: 2021
In China, the year 2021 witnessed the further evolution of environmental protection and development of legislation and rulemaking. This included revision of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Noise Pollution and adoption of the Wetland Protection Law, the Regulations on Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permits, Measures for Administration of Carbon Emissions Trading, judicial interpretations on environmental injunctive orders, and some departmental rules. This Comment summarizes some of the year’s major developments.
The Role of Program Evaluation in China's Environmental Policy
Evaluating government programs is a relatively new idea for China’s government and policymakers. Many policies and programs continue to be evaluated based on procedural standards rather than on actual performance. This Article investigates how program evaluations and the knowledge they produce find their way into China’s environmental policy.