168 results for 'cat:"Water"'.
J. Peterson partially denies the city's motion to exclude Monsanto's expert's testimony from the city's lawsuit accusing the agrochemical company of manufacturing and selling polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that contaminated the Lower Duwamish River. The expert may give his opinion that Monsanto's "recommendations for PCB waste disposal conformed with applicable regulations and exceeded waste disposal standards at the time," because the materials he cited in his report are adequate to support his opinion.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 2:16cv107, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: Tort, water, Experts
J. Estudillo dismisses the nonprofit's claim that the school bus company and the environmental consultant violated the Clean Water Act by discharging stormwater containing unpermitted levels of pollutants into the Thea Foss Waterway, Commencement Bay and Puget Sound. The nonprofit does not establish that the environmental consultant was the school bus company's managing agent, among other deficiencies that do not sufficiently allege that the environmental consultant is liable for any alleged environmental breaches.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Estudillo, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv5084, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, water
J. Nagala grants, in part, the environmental group's motion to amend its complaint against the oil company, ruling the possibility of a severe storm striking near the refinery, which has less than adequate storm surge protection, presents a chance of "imminent injury" to the environmentalists because it could occur at any time and, therefore, gives them standing to pursue Clean Water Act claims.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Nagala, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv932, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, water
J. Whitehead grants the consent decree between the environmental group and the bakery, and dismisses with prejudice the environmental group's claim that the bakery violated the Clean Water Act by discharging polluted stormwater into navigable waters. Among other stipulations, the bakery will conduct weekly vacuum sweeping of its facility's paved parking lot and weekly hand sweeping of any areas that the vacuum sweeper cannot reach.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Whitehead, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv1631, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, water
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J. Rice approves of the consent decree between the environmental organization and the non-profit organization regarding the environmental organization's claim that the non-profit organization, in violation of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, stored manure in inadequately lined storage lagoons that contaminated the groundwater. Among other stipulations, the non-profit organization must empty three lagoons used for manure storage by Aug. 1, 2023 for Lagoons 1 and 2 and by Sep. 30, 2024 for Lagoon 4.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Washington, Judge: Rice, Filed On: June 20, 2023, Case #: 1:19cv3110, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, water
J. Pena finds that the trial court should have preliminarily enjoined the continued construction of a water pipeline since the utility district that granted the pipeline easement failed to comply with the Environmental Quality Act. The trial court also erred when it found that the public would not be harmed by letting the project continue. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Pena, Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: F084228, Categories: Environment, water
J. Hart finds that the trial court properly dismissed a fisher's quiet title and declaratory relief claims to the riverbed of the Arkansas River for lack of standing. Both claims would require him to assert his own legally protected interest in the riverbed, but he instead relied on proof that the state owns the riverbed. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: June 5, 2023, Case #: 22SC119, Categories: Environment, Property, water
J. Clifton denies a petition for writ of mandamus brought by Klamath Irrigation District to compel the district court to remand a motion for a preliminary injunction to the Klamath County Circuit Court in Oregon in a case involving a dispute over the allocation of water within the Klamath Basin.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Clifton, Filed On: June 5, 2023, Case #: 22-70143, Categories: water, Injunction
[Consolidated.][Modified.] J. Bendix modifies a previously published opinion to clarify the extent of a regional water quality board's authority to regulate the unreasonable use of water. The trial court properly held that a regional water quality board lacked the authority to compel publicly-owned treatment facilities to recycle more of the wastewater they discharge into the Los Angeles River. The regional board is tasked with ensuring water quality, not reasonable use. But the trial court erred in directing the state water quality board to evaluate whether the discharges were reasonable and to provide the trial court with facts it could review. The state board has wide discretion over how it evaluates whether water use is reasonable, and the trial court erred in denying its demurrer. Reversed in part.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Bendix, Filed On: June 2, 2023, Case #: B309151, Categories: Environment, water
J. Lagesen corrects two factual errors in the record but adheres to the Appeals Court’s finding concerning a decision to eliminate a summer steelhead hatchery in the North Umpqua fish management area. “Our mistaken conflation of the number of hatcheries with the number of hatchery programs in those portions of our discussion does not alter our ultimate legal conclusion: That the decision to end the hatchery program was not an amendment to a rule.”
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Lagesen, Filed On: June 1, 2023, Case #: N011096, Categories: water
J. Christensen finds in partial favor of the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics’ in their lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service for discharging aerially deployed fire retardant, on nearly 500 occasions between 2012 and 2019, into U.S. waters without a permit. The Forest Service is not enjoined from using aerial deployment of fire retardant to fight wildfires, but its discharges are still in violation of the Clean Water Act. The Forest Service is ordered to update the court every six months as it works towards obtaining the proper permit.
Court: USDC Montana, Judge: Christensen, Filed On: May 26, 2023, Case #: 9:22cv168, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, water, Agency
J. Friedland dismisses an appeal challenging the district court's denial of a motion from various organizations to intervene as defendants in a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management challenging the grant of two rights-of-way. The first concerned the right to use an existing natural gas pipeline and the second to use that pipeline to transport water across federal lands in California. While the appeal was pending, the district court held that the decision to grant the rights-of-way was arbitrary.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Friedland, Filed On: May 26, 2023, Case #: 22-55317, Categories: Environment, water
J. Hoffstadt finds the trial court properly dismissed this class action brought against the previously dissolved district alleging its failure to provide potable drinking water. The district had been dissolved for incompetence and the Reorganization Act grants discretion to the Local Agency Formation Commission to permit it to appoint a successor agency responsible for winding up the district’s affairs. The county is immune and the district is legally nonexistent. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Hoffstadt, Filed On: May 25, 2023, Case #: B317653, Categories: Administrative Law, water, Agency
J. Thapar finds the lower court properly denied the fishing and wildlife coalition's motion to intervene because it believed at the time of the motion that the state of Michigan and several Native American tribes were less than a month from finalizing a new consent decree regarding regulation of Great Lakes fisheries. The last-minute nature of the motion, when combined with evidence Michigan intends to protect the coalition's interests during negotiations and the ultimate consent decree, weigh against granting the coalition party status in the case, especially considering the last round of negotiations began more than three years ago. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Thapar, Filed On: May 23, 2023, Case #: 22-1946, Categories: Civil Procedure, Native Americans, water
J. Clement finds the trial court properly dismissed this suit brought by the animal feed manufacturer seeking insurance coverage for its illegal dumping of wastewater into Brandon, Mississippi’s public sewer system. The city’s suit is based on intentional conduct, whereas the insurance policy only covers accidents. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Clement, Filed On: May 22, 2023, Case #: 22-60247, Categories: Insurance, Municipal Law, water
J. Oldham finds the district court improperly found the insurance company does not have a duty to defend the Tarrant Regional Water District under its commercial general liability policy for a pipeline project where a worker died. The court’s analysis of the location of a colon in a sentence in a particular endorsement in the contract makes it clearly applicable to the actions of supervisory personnel. Even assuming that the policy is “susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation,” the Fifth Circuit resolves ambiguity in favor of coverage. Reversed and remanded.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham, Filed On: May 22, 2023, Case #: 22-10107, Categories: Construction, Insurance, water