Supreme Court Finds Federal Law Preempts Agreements Between Trucking Companies and the Port of Los Angeles

On June 13, 2013, in American Trucking Ass’n, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles, the United States Supreme Court held that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) expressly preempts certain provisions of a concession agreeme… Read More

Ninth Circuit Court Holds that Clean Water Act does not Bar Citizen Suit where State had not Commenced an Action “to Require Compliance” with a NPDES Permit

By Michael Einhorn and Nancy Wilms In California Sportfishing Protection Alliance v. Chico Scrap Metal, Inc., Case No. 11-16959 (9th Cir. July 22, 2013), plaintiff California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (“Plaintiff”) alleged that defendants… Read More

Ninth Circuit Holds Wood Preservative from Utility Poles Discharged into the Environment does not Violate the Clean Water Act or RCRA

In Ecological Rights Foundation v. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 713 F.3d 502 (9th Cir. April 3, 2013), the Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the dismissal of a citizen suit alleging utility poles discharged wood preservative containing pentachlorophe… Read More

Deferred EIR Mitigation Measure Satisfies CEQA

The California Court of Appeals held that an environmental impact report (“EIR”) which identified landscaping as a mitigation measure to the project’s visual impact satisfied the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). The Court foun… Read More

EPA Releases Draft Vapor Intrusion Guidance

On April 11, 2013, the EPA released draft final vapor intrusion guidance (“Guidance”) for assessing and mitigating vapor intrusion pathways from subsurface sources to indoor air. The Guidance presents EPA’s current recommendations for identifyi… Read More

New EPA Policy Re: Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Benefits for Tenants

In December 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) adopted a new policy setting forth the conditions on which the agency will consider providing CERCLA bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP) protection to tenants who lease formerly or… Read More

Todd Tholke v. Sailing Vessel Energy Team AC45 Litigation Successfully Resolved, Energy Team Thanks Tholke

ELG is pleased to announce that it has confidentially resolved all claims arising out of Todd Tholke v. Sailing Vessel Energy Team AC45, Civ. No. 12-05162, Northern District of California. The case involved local sailor Todd Tholke’s salvage and re… Read More

Fourth Circuit Holds Zero-Share Apportionment Unavailable to Current Owner or Operator PRPs but Affirms Zero-Share Allocation; Rejects Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Defense Due to a Failure to Exercise Appropriate Care

By Michael Einhorn and Tiffany Hedgpeth In PCS Nitrogen Inc. v. Ashley II of Charleston, the Fourth Circuit (“Court”) affirmed the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina’s rulings addressing CERCLA liability at a former fertiliz… Read More

The Impacts of Sequestration Cuts on EPA Programs

Sequestration budget cuts (“budget cuts”) went into effect on March 1, 2013. These budget cuts required EPA to cut approximately $425 million from its $8.3 billion annual budget, or about 5%. In a February 6, 2013 letter, Lisa Jackson, then-Admin… Read More

State Law Claims by Private PRP Are Not Preempted by CERCLA § 107 Claim, at Least Initially

On March 18, a New York federal district court held that a company seeking to recoup the response costs it incurred cleaning up contamination at a former chemical plant initially may maintain state law claims as well as a cost recovery claim under CE… Read More