In this challenging economic climate, it is not uncommon for some companies who are potentially responsible parties (PRPs) involved in hazardous substances cleanup litigation under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to file for bankruptcy protection.
Several key issues have emerged as pivotal in ongoing efforts to reform TSCA. Progress on these complex issues is central to the success of TSCA reform. On July 21, 2011, ELI convened a panel of experts to examine the central issue of whether and what standard of safety should replace TSCA’s current “unreasonable risk” standard for regulating chemicals. Topics addressed included: hazard/exposure/risk criteria; burden of proof; judicial review of Agency decisions; sensitive populations; cost-benefit analysis; and application of the safety standard to new materials/technologies.
A district court held that DOE complied with NEPA when it determined that the construction of a "supercomputer" project on a college campus would have no significant environmental impact and did not require an EIS. The EA took a hard look at direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, adequa...
A district court held that an insurance company should have provided coverage to a demolition company for damages stemming from its disposal of contaminated waste at a recycling drop-off center. The insurance policy excludes coverage for damages arising from the final disposal of any material at a s...
A district court dismissed property owners' CERCLA, tort, and state-law claims against a power company for alleged PCB contamination. A former employee of the company lived at the property before it was sold to the current owners. While working for the company, the employee removed PCB-containing ca...
A district court held that an oil company may not seek insurance coverage for damages it incurred following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill under the oil rig owner's insurance policies. The underlying insurance policies refer to the drilling contract between the rig owner and the oil company to dete...
The Ninth Circuit held that the FWS' determination that a proposed mining project in northwest Montana would result in "no adverse modification" to critical bull trout habitat and would result in "no jeopardy" to the local grizzly bear population was not arbitrary, capricious, or in violation of the...
The D.C. Circuit upheld BLM’s decision to allow additional natural gas drilling in the Pinedale Anticline Project Area of western Wyoming. In 2008, the BLM adopted a record of decision (ROD) that, among other things, authorized the development of more natural gas wells than a previous ROD had sanc...