Alexandria to pay $36M to settle condemnation

The Battle of New Orleans circa 2011

By Alan Cooper
Published: June 6, 2011
Tags: Environmental, Federal Courts

Three weeks ago, Jeffrey A. Breit sat down in New Orleans to take the deposition of Richard Lynch, the man in charge of all drilling operations for global energy giant British Petroleum. Late last month, Breit battled BP in New Orleans federal court when it tried to limit the scope of federal multidistrict litigation against [...]

No Illness from Water, No Standing to Sue

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 14, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Environmental, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

In this case involving contamination of a public water supply in Parkersburg, W.Va., the 4th Circuit upholds the district court’s decision that individuals who consumed the water but have not become ill as a result, do not have standing to bring certain tort claims under West Virginia law. This court dismisses plaintiffs’ claim challenging the [...]

Corps’ Jurisdiction Over Wetlands Reversed

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 1, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Environmental, Judge Allyson K. Duncan

A Chesapeake developer planning a 658-acre mixed use development in southeast Virginia wins this phase of its challenge to the Army Corps of Engineers’ exercise of jurisdiction over certain wetlands in the development; the 4th Circuit vacates summary judgment for the Army Corps, as the administrative record does not support its conclusion to exercise jurisdiction [...]

Citizen Groups and ‘River Runner’ Have Standing

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 12, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Environmental, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan

The 4th Circuit says two environmental groups have standing to prosecute a citizen suit alleging defendant Gaston Copper Recycling Corporation violated the Clean Water Act, even after the death of the member of one of the groups who established standing on behalf of the group . We now conclude plaintiffs established standing to sue through [...]

Environmental – Clean Water Act – Discharge Permit

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 10, 2010
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Environmental, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

A West Virginia state environmental protection agency must obtain pollutant discharge permits under the Clean Water Act to pursue its reclamation efforts at abandoned coal mining sites; the CWA has no exception to the permit requirement for state agency reclamation efforts, the 4th Circuit says. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) appeals an [...]

Environmental – Groundwater Contamination – Clean-Up – Indemnification

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 2, 2010
Tags: Environmental, Judge Richard L. Williams, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Richmond U.S. District Court follows up on an earlier decision construing a 1996 Agreement between the parties’ predecessors and a 2006 Amendment between the parties that involved the sale of a Richmond manufacturing facility that requires a groundwater treatment system under an EPA remediation order, with a denial of Viasystems’ motion to dismiss Agere’s [...]

Environmental – Clean Water Act – Wastewater Discharge – Historic Preservation Act

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 13, 2010
Tags: Environmental, Judge Norman K. Moon, U.S. District Court - Western District

A Charlottesville U.S. District Court grants defendant Environmental Protection Agency’s motion to dismiss plaintiff Historic Green Springs Inc.’s challenge to issuance of a permit that allegedly allowed discharge of treated sewage into an impoundment of a creek. Historic Green Springs Inc. is a not for profit land conservation organization established in 1970 and incorporated under [...]

Environmental – TVA Plants – Emissions Controls – Public Nuisance

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 27, 2010
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Environmental

The 4th Circuit reverses a district court’s injunction requiring immediate installation of emissions controls at four TVA electricity generating plants, based on the district court’s finding that emissions from TVA plants constituted a public nuisance in North Carolina. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) appeals an injunction requiring immediate installation of emissions controls at four TVA [...]

Coal company to pay $75M for wastewater dump

By Alan Cooper
Published: June 14, 2010
Tags: Buchanan County Circuit Court, Environmental, Million-Dollar Settlements

The operator of the largest coal mine in the state will pay $75 million to resolve claims related to its decision more than a decade ago to dump wastewater into mines that were no longer producing coal. Subsidiaries of what is now CONSOL Energy Inc. contended that they had the right to pump the wastewater [...]