U.S. v. EME Homer City Generation, L.P. & Other Cases

Aug 21: In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, Case No. 11-4406. Appealed from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The Appeals Court summarizes, "The owners of a coal-fired power plant failed both to obtain a preconstruction permit and to install certain pollution-control technology before making changes to the plant. The Environmental Protection Agency and several states say the owners were required to do so. But the EPA did not cry foul until more than a decade after the changes, well after the owners had sold the plant. Now the EPA wants to force the former owners to obtain the missing preconstruction permit and to install the missing pollution controls on a plant they no longer own or operate. And they seek damages and an injunction against the current owners who neither owned nor operated the plant when it was allegedly modified illegally. The relief now sought would require us to distort plain statutory text to shore up what the EPA views as an incomplete remedial scheme. That we cannot do, and so we will affirm the District Court's dismissal of their claims."

 

    Access the complete opinion (click here). [#Air, #Energy/Coal, #CA3]

 

Quick Summaries Of  Additional Cases During The Break

• Trinity Industries, Inc. v. Chicago Bridge & Iron Company - Aug 20: In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, Case No. 12-2059. Appealed from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The case involves the assignment of liability for environmental cleanup under two federal statutes: CERCLA and RCRA. The Appeals Court considers the extent to which a settlement of state liability for environmental contamination affects the contribution scheme provided by CERCLA, and whether injunctive relief under RCRA is available when a remediation plan is already underway. The Appeals Court affirms in part and vacates and remands in part. Access the complete opinion (click here). [#Remed, #CA3]

• Bell v. Cheswick Generating Station - Aug 20: In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, Case No. 12-4216. Appealed from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Plaintiffs in a class action complaint against Cheswick Generating Station, GenOn Power Midwest, L.P. (GenOn). The Class is made up of at least 1,500 individuals who own or inhabit residential property within one mile of GenOn's 570-megawatt coal-fired electrical generation facility in Springdale, PA, complaining of ash and contaminants settling on their property.

  The Appeals Court addresses a matter of first impression: whether the Clean Air Act preempts state law tort claims brought by private property owners against a source of pollution located within the state. Based on the plain language of the Clean Air Act and controlling Supreme Court precedent, the Appeals Court concludes that "such source state common law actions are not preempted. Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the District Court and remand the case for further proceedings." Access the complete opinion (click here). [#Air, #CA3]

• U.S. v. Manne - Aug 27: In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, Case No. 12-3079. Appealed from an order of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Appeals Court vacates a district court decision relating to a consent decree that resolved an environmental enforcement action and rules, ". . .that under the circumstances the statutory exception to the Anti-Injunction Act which permits a federal court to enjoin state proceedings 'where necessary in aid of its jurisdiction' does not apply. We therefore conclude that the Anti-Injunction Act's general prohibition against a federal injunction of state proceedings precludes the district court from enjoining appellant's state suit." Access the complete opinion (click here). [#Remed, #CA2]

• Town Of Nags Head v. Toloczko - Aug 27: In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, Case No. 12-1537. Appealed from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Elizabeth City. The case involves a "slew of federal and state law claims" concerning the legality of efforts by the Town of Nags Head, North Carolina to declare beachfront properties that encroach onto "public trust lands" a nuisance, and regulate them accordingly. The Appeals Court reverses the district court's decision to abstain and remands the case for further proceedings consistent with the opinion. Access the complete opinion (click here). [#Land, #CA4]