
Tag Archives: Environmental Protection Agency
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Protects Small Refinery Exemptions To Renewable Fuel Program
As part of a renewable fuel program enacted by Congress under the Clean Air Act, the law allowed small refineries to be exempt from the Program’s requirements until 2011, then permitted the Environmental Protection Agency to extend that exemption for at least two more years if not doing so would cause “disproportionate economic hardship,” and further allowed any small refinery ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Limitations on CERCLA Contribution Claims Only for CERCLA-Specific Liabilities
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) established the framework for who should pay for environmental issues. In particular, CERCLA allows “a person who has resolved its liability to the United States or a State” in a settlement to raise a contribution claim from another responsible individual. In 2004, the Territory of Guam settled litigation initiated ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Upholds Deliberative Process Privilege Against FOIA Claim
The Environmental Protection Agency consulted with two other government services to determine whether particular cooling water intake structures jeopardized aquatic wildlife. The services issued draft opinions that a particular rule would jeopardize certain species, which were never approved in final form. The EPA modified the rule, and the services issued a “no jeopardy” opinion. The Sierra Club sued under the ... Read More
SCOTUS Opinion: Court Upholds EPA’s Superfund Cleanup Plan Against Challenge
For decades, a copper smelter in Montana contaminated approximately 300 square miles of land with arsenic and lead. The Environmental Protection Agency, working with the current owner of the smelter, instituted a cleanup plan under Superfund. Unhappy with the plan and its progress, nearby landowners filed suit in state court, lodging common law claims for damage to their properties, as ... Read More