The Fourth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a mining corporation's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Maryland Surface Dewatering Act. The Act imposes remedial measures on a licensed miner if a well within its "zone of influence" fails due to declining ground water or if damage was caus...
A California appellate court affirmed a lower court decision holding unripe a construction company's takings claim against the California Coastal Commission for denying its application of a coastal development permit. The court rejected the company's argument that there is no economically productive...
A district court dismissed claims that the workplace safety exposure levels—or threshold limit values—for silica, copper, n-propyl bromide, and diesel particulate matter are adopted by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and enforced by the U.S. Department of La...
The California Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision finding that the programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) and environmental impact report (EIR) for the CALFED Program—a long-term comprehensive plan designed by a consortium of 18 state and federal agencies (CALFED) to restore ...
A Texas appellate court upheld a state railroad commission order requiring a company to obtain a permit to receive and store oilfield waste consisting primarily of oil-based drill cuttings—bits of rock and soil that are byproducts of the drilling process—that it would then recycle into road base...
The court holds in a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §113 contribution action that plaintiff, the successor-owner/operator of a battery breaking facility, is liable for 75 percent of the cleanup costs and that defendant-battery suppliers are liable for...
The court holds that a county's action to quiet title to real property used by the United States as a wildlife management area on Matagorda Island in Texas is time barred. The federal government condemned a portion of Matagorda Island for use as a bombing and gunnery range, and in 1982 the U.S. Fish...
The court holds that a corporation's contingent claims for environmental cleanup costs associated with real property it purchased from a potentially responsible party (PRP) that filed for bankruptcy are claims for reimbursement and contribution and, therefore, may be disallowed if the bankruptcy cou...
Environmental regulation of pollution in the United States is often maligned as costly and ineffective. Pollution continues to plague and degrade the natural resources in the United States, and U.S. waters in particular. Nonpoint source pollution is currently the most significant source of water pollution, but it is also the most unregulated. While other discharges into U.S. waters have been dramatically reduced since the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) was enacted, nonpoint source pollution—caused most by runoff from agricultural operations—has increased.
Few commentators doubt the value of clean, unadulterated waters teeming with varied and colorful aquatic life. The debate centers instead on more pragmatic concerns, that is, how to best accomplish the accepted imperative. Some maintain that the primary responsibility should fall on the federal government because of its insularity from regional economic and political pressures. Others suggest that states should take the lead because of their familiarity with and ability to respond to local environmental concerns. Both sides have valid points.