A district court granted partial summary judgment in a CWA citizen suit brought against the owner of a mine in Washington. The state of Washington and an environmental group argued the mine owner had violated various terms of its NPDES permit. The owner asserted the claims were barred because there ...
A district court granted a conservation group's motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning a California resident's recreational gold mining in a river in Idaho. The group argued the defendant violated the CWA by suction dredge mining during the 2014, 2015, and 2018 dredging seasons without ...
The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, affirmed in part and reversed in part dismissal of a challenge to EPA's withdrawal of a previously proposed determination restricting mining operations in part of southwest Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed. A conservation group had argued the withdrawal violated the CWA and EPA...
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a settlement of environmental liabilities must resolve a CERCLA-specific liability to give rise to a contribution action under §113(f)(3)(B), in a lawsuit concerning a landfill in Guam formerly owned by the U.S. Navy. After entering into a consent decree...
A district court granted summary judgment for a utility company in a lawsuit concerning groundwater discharges from coal ash ponds at its power plant in Kentucky. Environmental groups argued that the discharges threatened immediate and substantial environmental harm to a nearby lake and streams, in ...
In an unpublished opinion, the Fourth Circuit upheld the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant Maryland a CWA §404 permit for a mass transportation project. An environmental group and state residents argued that the Corps granted the permit without considering alternatives other than the optio...
A district court dismissed a RCRA citizen suit brought against present and former owners of chemical plants for allegedly releasing radioactive slag deposited on landowners' properties in New York. The landowners sought injunctive relief under RCRA, including ordering the plant owners to evaluate ea...
The Tenth Circuit denied a company's petition to review an Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) decision denying its petition to review a 2017 permit issued by EPA to an upstream wastewater treatment plant. In its petition, the company argued the permit constituted backsliding under the CWA, particular...
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a Native American tribe's breach of trust claim in a lawsuit concerning water rights to the Colorado River. The tribe initially sued DOI, arguing the Department violated NEPA and breached its trust obligations based on its management of the ...
The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a ruling in a CWA citizen suit brought against developers of a construction site in Worcester, Massachusetts. An environmental group argued that one developer violated the CWA by failing to obtain a general construction permit, and that both de...