176 results for 'nos:"Environmental Matters - Other Suits"'.
J. Rothstein grants the property owner partial summary judgment for his claim that the man-made stormwater treatment facility on the residential development property, which the property owner says unlawfully discharges pollutants into the nearby wetlands and Lacamas Lake, is both a point source and part of the “Waters of the United States." Nothing in the Clean Water Act indicates that a point source and a WOTUS are mutually exclusive, and the residential development owner does not support its argument that the matter will not survive a legal challenge with any legal authority.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Rothstein, Filed On: December 18, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv5834, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Property, Water
J. Bell rules in favor of a glue manufacturer that sued a group of companies responsible for transporting and treating its wastewater, the disposal of which cost more than $7 million because the sued companies failed to properly deal with it. The manufacturer contracted with companies to treat and dispose of several thousand 275-gallon totes of the wastewater, but one of the companies did not do so and stored the totes on another’s property. The problem was left to fester until state and federal environmental authorities intervened and tested the water, which was found to contain toxic chemicals. The manufacturer had led all parties to believe the water was non-toxic, and thus, bears the burden of paying most of the $7 million needed by the EPA to dispose of the water properly. The companies in question and associated individuals have also expressed their inability to pay large costs and will be responsible to pay a total of over $576,000 toward the EPA’s balance.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: December 15, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv69, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Government, Contract
J. Mays enters an agreed protective order governing the production of discovery in this case. The protected information may include "documents, tangible items, or information, including electronically stored information," which should be protected from public disclosure.
Court: USDC Western District of Tennessee , Judge: Mays, Filed On: December 12, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv2444, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Civil Procedure, Discovery
J. Zilly denies the trucking company's motion to modify or vacate the consent decree entered on Dec. 8, 2020, regarding the government's complaint accusing the trucking company of violating the Clean Water Act by discharging fill material into wetlands and streams. The trucking company asserts that wetlands separated from other United States waters by man-made dikes or barriers do not count as adjacent wetlands, but the case the trucking company cites recognizes that the CWA prevents a landowner from carving out wetlands from federal jurisdiction using a barrier.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Zilly, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 2:18cv747, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Native Americans, Water
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J. Boyle grants the federal government’s motion to strike 10 of 14 affirmative defenses presented by a seafood business owner who allegedly constructed retaining walls without permits in areas protected by the Clean Water Act. Because the government is seeking a civil penalty and injunction for the violation, not damages, it is not subject to defenses the owner uses here, such as estoppel, laches and unclean hands. Other of his defenses are inadequately pleaded.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Boyle, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv1, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Government, Maritime
J. Simon declines to dismiss all but the first of the nonprofit organization's claims alleging that then-Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt wrongfully granted Hammond Ranches a new grazing permit on four allotments in southeastern Oregon despite two of the ranch owners and operators' convictions for deliberately setting public lands on fire. The Secretary's new evidence does not sufficiently show that the nonprofit organization's fears of future fires being set are unfounded.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Simon, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv297, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Evidence
J. Gleason denies an environmental group's motion for preliminary injunction pending appeal regarding a challenge to approval of an oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The group alleges violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act, Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and Endangered Species Act and seeks to halt construction for the remainder of the winter season. The group has not shown that it will suffer irreparable harm if the winter construction activities proceed.
Court: USDC Alaska, Judge: Gleason, Filed On: December 1, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv58, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment
J. Gleason denies an environmental group's motion for preliminary injunction pending appeal regarding a challenge to approval of an oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The group alleges violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act, Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and Endangered Species Act and seeks to halt construction for the remainder of the winter season. The group has not shown that it will suffer irreparable harm if the winter construction activities proceed.
Court: USDC Alaska, Judge: Gleason, Filed On: December 1, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv61, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment
J. Molloy grants in part a preliminary injunction against Montana's regulations that allow for wolf trapping and snaring in occupied grizzly habitats. The regulations, which would have allowed for wolf trapping to start as early as the first Monday after Thanksgiving, are likely to cause incidents where protected grizzly bears could be snared by traps intended for wolves. Wolf trapping and snaring is enjoined in several major areas in the state as a result, except for during the winter time periods were it is likely most of the bears will be in their dens.
Court: USDC Montana, Judge: Molloy, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 9:23cv101, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Injunction
J. Dale denies an aviation group's motion to intervene as defendants in a matter in which environmental groups challenge the government's actions to authorize and maintain allegedly unlawful private aircraft landings within the Big Creek watershed of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in central Idaho. The aviation group's members use the landing strips. The aviation group has not shown that it has inadequate representation by the state or Forest Service.
Court: USDC Idaho, Judge: Dale, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv295, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Aviation
J. Wormuth denies the environmental groups' petition for an injunction, ruling such a decision will have no real-world effect on the habitat of the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse. Grazing in its habitat has concluded for the 2023 calendar year and will not resume until a new biological opinion has been released by the National Fish and Wildlife Service; therefore, the claims are moot.
Court: USDC New Mexico, Judge: Wormuth, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv733, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Injunction
J. Lasnik approves of the consent decree between the organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the former's environmental lawsuit alleging that the EPA did not approve or disapprove the state implementation plan regarding the Fairbanks North Star Borough fine particulate matter non-attainment area. Among other stipulations, the EPA must sign a notice or notices of final rulemaking approving, disapproving or conditionally approving the Fairbanks matter by no later than Nov. 22, 2023.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Lasnik, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv1382, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Settlements
J. Jackson remands a case challenging a decision to grant a right-of-way to the Utah Department of Transportation for construction of a highway through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. The government contends more environmental analysis is needed, and has agreed to complete a supplemental environmental impact statement and solicit comments from the public.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv1506, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment
J. Settle confirms the consent decree between the nonprofit organization and the port district regarding the former's lawsuit alleging that the latter discharged copper ore and other pollutions from its dry bulk commodities terminal into the waters of the United States in violation of the port's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Among other stipulations, the port district shall develop and implement an operations and maintenance plan for the bioretention treatment system at Terminal 2 of its facility.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Settle, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv5486, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment
J. Gleason dismisses environmental groups' challenge of the Bureau of Land Management's decision to authorize oil production in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The groups allege that government violated the National Environmental Policy Act "by failing to adequately analyze global greenhouse gas emissions from future oil development" on the lands, failing to consider alternatives, and that the project may adversely affect several species of marine mammals. The government considered "the requisite reasonable range of alternatives."
Court: USDC Alaska, Judge: Gleason, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv58, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment
J. Gleason dismisses environmental groups' challenge of the Bureau of Land Management's decision to authorize oil production in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The groups allege that government violated the National Environmental Policy Act "by failing to adequately analyze global greenhouse gas emissions from future oil development" on the lands, failing to consider alternatives, and that the project may adversely affect several species of marine mammals. The government considered "the requisite reasonable range of alternatives."
Court: USDC Alaska, Judge: Gleason, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv61, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment
J. Joseph grants the chemical manufacturer's motion to file a third-party complaint against the developer's parent company in the developer's lawsuit seeking compensation for cleaning up chemical contamination at its properties. Despite the developer's arguments that the manufacturer's motion is untimely and that its parent company is not a party of interest in the case, the manufacturer has satisfied all the requirements necessary to file its third-party complaint under federal rules.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Joseph, Filed On: October 24, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv1694, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Property, Tort
J. Corley denies a request for a preliminary injunction against the federal government regarding claims from a biologist that flood releases from the Coyote Valley Dam into the Russian River are harming local populations of salmon. The biologist has not only shown failed to show how serious harm will befall the local salmon if the flood releases continue, but has also put forward an injunction request that is unreasonable for the government to work around and is unlikely to fix any of the alleged issues stemming from the dam's operations.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Corley, Filed On: October 23, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv6143, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Agency, Injunction
J. Morris dismisses claims that sought to challenge the feds management of the Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest. Environmentalists challenged the analyses of seven domestic grazing sites in the forest, such as their move to not prepare a supplemental NEPA analysis. But the feds have shown they completed all the required steps in their forest management, and the environmentalists cannot show why an additional hard look under NEPA is needed.
Court: USDC Montana, Judge: Morris, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv12, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, Agency