The court rules that a citizen may not intervene in a suit under §505 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) that does not involve the enforcement of an effluent limitation or a related administrative order, and holds that the attempt to intervene in this case is not timely. Plaintiffs ...

The court holds that a statute prohibiting the deposit of out-of-state solid waste in a state-funded and -operated landfill does not violate the Commerce Clause, the Contract Clause, or the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Constitution. The court first holds that the statutory ban does not vi...

The court rules that the "owner or operator" under §311(f) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) is determined by the date of the discharge discovery. The court first holds that the government failed to prove that Quaker State owned the site after the discharges were discovered in 1985...

The court holds that the district court's remand to the Army Corps of Engineers of a challenge to the Corps' denial of a dredge and fill permit is not an appealable order. Plaintiff developer brought suit to challenge the Corps' decision to deny plaintiff a permit under §404 of the Federal Water Po...

On remand from the Supreme Court with instructions to consider the issue of mootness, the court holds that an electric power company's action for declaratory judgment that the Toxic Substances Control Act preempts Maryland hazardous waste statutes is rendered moot by Maryland's suspension of its cri...

The court holds that the Eleventh Amendment precludes suits by private parties against a state in federal court for indemnification and contribution under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The court first holds that the language of the 1986 CERCLA am...

The court rules that §113 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) bars constitutional challenges to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) by potentially responsible parties prior to an enforcement suit for reimbursement. The clear lang...

The court holds the automatic stay provision of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. §362(a), does not apply to a federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act cost recovery action brought by the United States government. An automatic stay does not apply when one of the go...

The court denies the federal government's motion under §104(e)(5) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for immediate entry to enjoin defendants from continuing landfilling operations at the Northside Sanitary Landfill site. The court first holds that the Envi...

The court rules that the Clean Air Act's four-month limitation on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) approval of state implementation plans (SIPs) applies to the Agency's decisions on proposed SIP revisions, and EPA is prohibited from enforcing an original SIP until it acts on a proposed ...