Mealey's Pollution Liability : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Pollution Liability

April 09, 2024
Norfolk Southern To Pay $600M To Settle Ohio Train Derailment Litigation

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Norfolk Southern Railway Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. (Norfolk Southern collectively) and the plaintiffs suing them filed notice in Ohio federal court on April 9 indicating that they have reached a $600 million agreement in principle to resolve the class action pertaining to alleged injuries from the release of toxic chemicals in the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio; a third-party lawsuit among Norfolk Southern and railcar companies continues.
April 09, 2024
Insureds Say Remand In Pollution Dispute Is Necessary, Appeal Is Premature

SAN FRANCISCO — Insureds involved in an environmental contamination coverage suit urge the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to remand its suit to the district court, contending that the insurer’s notice of appeal was premature because the district court did not rule on the insureds’ motion to alter or amend the judgment entered in favor of the insureds on the applicability of the pollution exclusion.
April 08, 2024
CERCLA’s Petroleum Exclusion Creates Fact Questions About ‘Covered Persons’ Status

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — The question of whether three oil companies are “covered persons” under the Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act cannot be decided at this stage because the companies’ potential liability may be barred by CERCLA’s petroleum exclusion, an Illinois federal judge found in partly denying partial summary judgment to the operator of a refinery where contamination has been identified.
April 08, 2024
Minn. Federal Judge Grants Summary Judgment Against Tribes In Water Quality Dispute

MINNEAPOLIS — Two federally recognized Indian tribes in Minnesota are not entitled to summary judgment on their claims that the Environmental Protection Agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by approving revisions to Minnesota’s water quality standards because the agency’s decisions were based on scientific data and analysis.
April 05, 2024
Parties Request Final Judgment In Environmental Disparate Impact Dispute

LAKE CHARLES, La. — Louisiana, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) requested an entry of final judgment after a Louisiana federal judge found, in partly granting Louisiana’s motion for a preliminary judgment, that the state showed that it would be irreparably harmed if its environmental agencies were required to perform disparate impact and cumulative impact analysis for their environmental grant and permitting decisions.
April 04, 2024
Insurer Says District Court Properly Found Coverage Is Barred For Cleanup Costs

ATLANTA — A district court’s ruling that no coverage is owed to an insured for contamination cleanup costs caused by the release of petroleum and other contaminants from an underground storage tank at a gas station must be affirmed because the district court correctly found that the claim for contamination cleanup costs incepted prior to the issuance of the policy and is, therefore, barred from coverage, the insurer says in its appellee brief filed in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal.
April 01, 2024
Illinois Law Applies In Environmental Contamination Coverage Dispute, Judge Says

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Illinois law must be applied in an environmental contamination coverage dispute because Illinois has a more “substantial interest” in the resolution of the coverage dispute arising out of the insureds’ obligations for remediation costs related to a Superfund site located in Illinois than does the commonwealth of Massachusetts, the location where some of the policies were issued, an Illinois federal judge said March 29 in granting the insureds’ motion to apply Illinois law and in denying the insurers’ motion to apply Massachusetts law.
March 28, 2024
California Federal Judge Grants Interim Attorney Fees In Clean Water Act Dispute

SAN JOSE, Calif. — An environmental organization is entitled to a reasonable amount of interim attorney fees under the Clean Water Act (CWA) because it was a prevailing party in a partial summary judgment order in which two cities were found to have violated the CWA by discharging bacteria pollution from their stormwater sewer systems, a California federal judge found in granting the organization’s motion for interim fees.
March 27, 2024
Diverting Stream Violated State Law Protecting Wetlands, Michigan Panel Rules

DETROIT — A trial court did not err in finding that a man violated state environmental laws by diverting a stream to build a pond on his property because the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) presented sufficient evidence to show that the wetlands affected by the diversion were protected, a Michigan panel found in affirming the trial court’s judgment.
March 26, 2024
Federal Jury Finds That Companies Were Both Negligent In Liquid Mercury Spill

PITTSBURGH — A transportation company and a recycling company were equally negligent in causing a shipment of liquid mercury to spill and cause environmental damage, a Pennsylvania federal jury said in a verdict returned after a three-day trial.
March 26, 2024
Wash. Panel: Stormwater Permit Applies To Entirety Of Transportation Facilities

SEATTLE — A state administrative hearing board erred in finding that a general industrial stormwater permit did not apply to the entirety of transportation facilities that are subject to regulation under the permit because the board relied on language from similar federal regulations that was not present in the permit, a Washington appeals court panel found in reversing the board’s decision.
March 25, 2024
Ill. Federal Judge Refuses To Disqualify Attorneys Retained By City In PCB Dispute

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Attorneys retained by East St. Louis should not be disqualified for signing contingency fee agreements in a case brought against Monsanto Co. for its alleged contamination of city property with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) because safeguards in the agreements ensure that the city retains decision-making power over the litigation, an Illinois federal judge found in denying the company’s motion to disqualify.
March 21, 2024
Illinois Federal Judge Remands PCB Contamination Dispute To State Court

CHICAGO — A dispute over whether Monsanto and one of its distributors are liable for damages allegedly caused by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the storm sewer systems of several northern Illinois municipalities should be heard in state court because diversity, federal enclave and federal question jurisdiction do not exist, an Illinois federal judge found in granting the municipalities’ motion to remand.
March 21, 2024
Prior Consent Decree Moots Trade Union’s Request To Review Incinerator Standards

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency cannot be compelled to review certain emissions standards for solid-waste incinerators because that issue was decided in a prior consent decree covering the same standards, a District of Columbia federal judge found in granting, without prejudice, the agency’s motion to dismiss a complaint filed by a trade union.
March 19, 2024
In Toxic Landfill Case, N.Y. Federal Judge Partly Grants Summary Judgment Motion

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Summary judgment is not appropriate for personal injury claims brought by a group of residents of North Tonawanda, N.Y., who allege that they were affected by toxic substances at a landfill in Wheatfield, N.Y., because the residents were not given the opportunity to present expert witness reports regarding their injuries, a New York federal judge found in partly granting a motion for summary judgment filed by Wheatfield and a group of companies that allegedly contributed to pollution at the landfill.
March 19, 2024
In Dispute Over New CWA Rule, Federal Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction Motion

LAKE CHARLES, La. — In denying a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by 11 states and several private parties, a Louisiana federal judge found that the group failed to establish a likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that the Environmental Protection Agency’s new Clean Water Act (CWA) rule governing water quality certification procedures was being impermissibly applied retroactively.
March 15, 2024
Preliminary Injunction Is Not Appropriate In Dispute Over Golf Course Discharges

BUTTE, Mont. — An environmental group is not entitled to a preliminary injunction that would prevent a resort from filling water hazards on its golf course because questions of fact exist about whether the water hazards are contaminating a river in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA), a Montana federal judge found in denying the group’s motion for an injunction.
March 14, 2024
Colorado Federal Judge Grants Motion To Amend CERCLA Consent Decree

DENVER — Funds paid by a large oil company pursuant to a consent decree resolving Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act claims arising from a release of hazardous materials at a military site should no longer be restricted to use solely on a state greenway project, a Colorado federal judge found in granting an unopposed motion to amend the consent decree.
March 08, 2024
Judge Nixes Norfolk Southern’s Case Against Railcar Owners For Remediation Costs

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio has dismissed a third-party lawsuit filed by Norfolk Southern Corp. and Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (collectively, Norfolk Southern) that sought to apportion to railcar companies some amount of liability for the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that resulted in the release of toxic chemicals, ruling that Norfolk Southern failed to state a claim against those companies.
March 07, 2024
D.C. Circuit: EPA Erred In Asking States To Revise Parts Of Emissions Plans

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency erred in requesting that several states revise portions of their state implementation plans under the Clean Air Act (CAA) because some of the provisions in the plans that partly limit emissions standards cited as unlawful by the agency are permissible, a District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel majority found in granting in part seven petitions for judicial review filed by various states and industry parties.
March 05, 2024
Ohio Federal Judge: Proposed Consent Decree Amendments Would Pollute National Park

AKRON, Ohio — Adopting amendments proposed by Akron would allow the city to discharge around 100 million gallons of untreated sewage into Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP), an Ohio federal judge found in denying the city’s motion to amend a consent decree that resolved Clean Water Act (CWA) claims arising from overflows of untreated sewage brought against the city by the United States.
March 05, 2024
California Panel: Agency May Reclassify Hazardous Waste Facility Violations

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Department of Toxic Substances Control did not err in reclassifying violations of California’s Hazardous Waste Control Law (HWCL) committed by the owner and operator of a hazardous waste facility as more severe because the law does not prohibit such reclassifications, a California panel found March 4 in affirming a trial court’s judgment.
March 05, 2024
Idaho Federal Judge Dismisses Criminal Count Brought Under CAA Asbestos Standards

POCATELLO, Idaho — The United States failed to allege a criminal offense arising from the Clean Air Act (CAA) in one count of its indictment against a man who allegedly violated the statute by failing to comply with certain asbestos standards when demolishing two buildings because the language of the CAA does not make failing to thoroughly inspect a building for asbestos a crime, an Idaho federal judge found in granting the man’s motion to dismiss in part.
March 05, 2024
N.M. Panel Affirms Agency’s Findings Regarding Sludge Dumping On Tribal Land

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) did not err in finding that the operator of a luxury hotel violated several state environmental laws by dumping wastewater sludge onto tribal land because the administrative record supports the findings, a New Mexico appeals panel found in affirming the agency’s decision.
February 29, 2024
10th Circuit Transfers Good Neighbor Provision Cases, Comments On Circuit Split

DENVER — The District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has exclusive jurisdiction over petitions for judicial review challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to disapprove Utah’s and Oklahoma’s state implementation plans for new air quality standards under the Clean Air Act (CAA) because the disapprovals apply nationally, a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in granting the EPA’s motions to transfer; the panel also commented on the current circuit split over the issue.