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Wetlands & Wild Lands
Wetlands and wild lands are important to the environmental quality of the country. They provide plant and wildlife habitat, flood control, sediment control, groundwater recharge, clean drinking water, recreational opportunities, educational opportunities, and aesthetics.
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Tips for Creating & Maintaining a Safe Indoor Environment
When many people think of the environment, images of the air, water, and land that surround us outside come to mind. However, there is growing attention to protecting and cleaning the indoor environments of our homes, school, offices, and public places. Perhaps you have heard of sick building syndrome. This syndrome can be caused by an impure or hazardous indoor environment, and is often characterized by a resolution or diminishment of symptoms when the affected individual leaves the building. Numerous indoor objects can contaminate our environment and be harmful, or sometimes even fatal. Here is some interesting information on indoor pollution, and tips on how to avoid it.
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Case Summaries
[11/19]
McDonald v. Sun Oil Co.
In a suit arising out of the sale of a property containing a disused mercury mine, alleging negligence, contribution, breach of contract and fraud as a result of an alleged oral warranty that certain rock at the mine was free of mercury, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the state statute of repose did not render the negligence claim time-barred, because provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act amending state statute of limitations rules also applied to statutes of repose; 2) the contribution claim could not be brought without remedial action having been initiated by a state environmental agency; 3) the parol evidence rule was properly applied to find that the parties had reduced their entire agreement to writing and that no binding oral warranty existed; and 4) plaintiffs did not produce evidence of the alleged falsity of statements made by defendant.
[11/18]
Romoland Sch. Dist. v. Inland Empire Energy Ctr., LLC
In a suit against an electric utility and an air-quality-management district under the Clean Air Act, seeking to halt the construction of a power plant, denial of a preliminary injunction and dismissal with prejudice of all claims are affirmed where: 1) plaintiffs' voluntary dismissal of some claims presented the appellate court with a final order over which it had jurisdiction; and 2) the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over plaintiffs' claims.
[11/13]
Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Inc. v. Cherokee Mining, LLC
In a suit by plaintiff-environmental non-profit organization against defendant owner and operator of two coal mines, denial of defendant's motion to dismiss is affirmed where: 1) in accordance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, all of the limitations against a citizen suit as provided for in section 1319(g)(6)(A), were lifted so long as the notice and filing requirements were met; and 2) because plaintiff gave its notice of intent to sue defendant prior to Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) commencement of its administrative enforcement action and plaintiff filed suit in federal court within 120 days of its notice as required, the bar against plaintiff's citizen suit was inapplicable; and 3) the district court did not err in denying defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
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