Environmental Agencies, Superfund Cleanups, and Managing Enforcement Actions
In general, environmental law seeks to protect public health and the environment by providing for liability, compensation, cleanup, and emergency response to the release or disposal of hazardous substances. And more...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in a January 31st Opinion a dispute between two Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“Superfund or...more
Following the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian, commentators warned the decision would allow a new category of state law actions challenging EPA-approved clean-ups. One year...more
The rhetoric of enforcement under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601-75, plays well in public. The government seeks “cleanup” and makes “the polluter pay.”...more
The US District Court for the Central District of California issued an opinion on December 10 in the decades-long fight between the US Environmental Protection Agency and several oil companies over payment of the United...more
Prior to April 2020, it seemed clear under prevailing federal case law that a disgruntled person could not use a state court lawsuit to change an environmental remedy approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)...more
In support of the State Water Resources Control Board’s (State Board) efforts to investigate and evaluate the public health effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the San Francisco Regional Water Quality...more
Landowners seeking restoration damages in state courts, at sites where there is a cleanup remedy previously selected by EPA, may pursue such claims only if they first obtain EPA approval for the proposed restoration work....more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced a landmark decision under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Act), also known as the Superfund program. In the case of Atlantic...more
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian (Slip Op. No. 17-1498) confirmed the broad statutory definition of "Potentially Responsible Party" (PRP) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
In Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian, a decision issued on April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that state courts may hear state common law claims seeking to compel remediation beyond what the U.S....more
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not preclude Montana residents from bringing state common law claims to recover the...more
The United States Supreme Court recently decided a case that will create considerable uncertainty for companies involved with cleanups under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA,...more
On April 20, 2020 the United States Supreme Court handed down an important decision on the reaches of settlements involving the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or “Superfund”)....more
On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-anticipated opinion in Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian (No. 17-1498), holding that landowners whose properties are contaminated by neighboring Superfund sites...more
On April 20, 2020, in Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian (ARCO v. Christian or ARCO), the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal Superfund law does not preclude individuals from filing state claims for further cleanup of...more
A group of Montana homeowners secured a hollow victory in the U.S. Supreme Court that appears to open the door wider than it has ever been to state court challenges of EPA remedial actions. In its 7-2 decision in Atlantic...more
The Situation: The U.S. Supreme Court recently considered, in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian, whether the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Recovery Act ("CERCLA") deprives Montana state courts of...more
On April 20, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian,1 a case addressing the interplay between the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority under the Comprehensive...more
Notwithstanding that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (more commonly known as “Superfund”) has been around for 40 years, and the fact that numerous cases have made their way to the...more
The U.S. Supreme Court stepped into the long-simmering debate about the rights of residential homeowners affected by Superfund response actions, ruling that they are indeed bound by the federal statute’s ban against...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has a history of rendering muddled decisions when interpreting key environmental statutes, and with its decision in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian et al., history repeats itself....more
In Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian, the United States Supreme Court recently held that a state court had jurisdiction over landowners’ state common law claims against Atlantic Richfield Company related to the Anaconda...more
Summary - Private landowners at a federal Superfund site cannot use state law claims to require additional remediation without advance EPA approval, based on a limitation in the Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a near unanimous decision in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian which involves a group of landowners’ attempt to fashion their own clean-up remedies under state law at a...more