A district court held that Minnesota's New Generation Energy Act, which establishes energy and environmental standards related to carbon dioxide emissions, constitutes impermissible extraterritorial legislation and is a per se violation of the dormant Commerce Clause. The statute's plain language ap...
The D.C. Circuit largely upheld the dismissal of a Native American tribe's RCRA and Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act claims against the United States and various federal agencies in connection with a former uranium mill and two hazardous waste facilities located on Navajo land. In 2010, E...
A district court granted in part and denied in part motions to dismiss a corporation's CERCLA suit against an electronics company for costs incurred cleaning up lead contamination at a New York Superfund site. The electronics company, which had operated a steel plant and foundry on the site, claimed...
A New Jersey appellate court held that the state's Department of Environmental Protection violated the New Jersey APA when it withdrew from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) program. In 2011, the state posted a notice on the Department's website that is was withdrawing from the RGGI prog...
A district court upheld the constitutionality of a New York county's solid waste flow control ordinance that directs all solid waste generated within the county to designated publicly owned but privately operated processing facilities. Solid waste companies alleged that, by preventing non-designated...
The Supreme Court of South Carolina reinstated an administrative law court (ALC) decision that reversed and denied a state agency's issuance of a permit for a construction and demolition landfill. The ALC denied the permit based on its conclusion that the region already had more landfill capacity th...
The Second Circuit held that CERCLA does not allow a subcontractor hired to perform cleanup activities on a site the right to recover the value of unpaid work directly from the landowner. The landowner paid a general contractor for costs associated with the cleanup of a contaminated parcel of land. ...
The Ninth Circuit, in a 170+ page opinion, reversed in part and affirmed in part a lower court decision invalidating the FWS' 2008 biological opinion (BiOp) that concluded that the Central Valley Project (CVP) would jeopardize the continued existence of the delta smelt and its habitat. The project s...
A California appellate court, in a pair of related cases, held that the California Department of Water Resources's environmental impact report (EIR) for an underground water bank in southern California violated the California Environmental Quality Act. The bank occupies nearly 30 square miles of und...
A California appellate court, in a pair of related cases, held that the California Department of Water Resources's environmental impact report (EIR) for an underground water bank in southern California violated the California Environmental Quality Act. The bank occupies nearly 30 square miles of und...