Cases

Resolved

Toxics Action Center, Environment Massachusetts v. Casella Waste Systems, Inc., Southbridge Recycling and Disposal Park, and Town of Southbridge

By early-2017, eighty residential wells in Southbridge, MA, tested positive for lead, 1,4-dioxane, or carcinogenic chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Residents did not need to look far for the source of these contaminants: monitoring reports from Casella Waste Systems revealed that a landfill it operated in Southbridge had been releasing these toxins into groundwater for […]

Clean Water
Active

Blackstone Headwaters Coalition, Inc. v. Gallo Builders, Inc. et al.

North and South Rivers Watershed Ass’n v. Town of Scituate, a 1991 case with nationwide precedential value, misconstrued a provision of the Clean Water Act that prohibits the federal Environmental Protection Agency and citizen suit plaintiffs from seeking court-imposed penalties for violations that have already been the subject of a diligently prosecuted administrative penalty. The […]

Clean Water
Resolved

Environment Florida, Sierra Club v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.

Florida’s Suwannee River is a state ecological treasure, famous for 185 freshwater springs that provide both critical wildlife habitat and water for Florida residents, tourists, and agricultural producers. To help protect this invaluable resource, in 2017 NELC filed suit against Pilgrim’s Pride’s Live Oak, FL, poultry processing facility for illegally dumping hundreds of thousands of […]

Clean Water
Resolved

PennEnvironment and the Valley Forge Chapter of Trout Unlimited (VFTU) v.Tredyffrin Township

Valley Creek, which flows through Valley Forge National Historical Park in Tredyffrin Township, PA, is designated as an “Exceptional Value” stream by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and a “Class A wild trout stream” by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission – the highest water quality classifications the state of Pennsylvania can bestow. […]

Clean Water
Resolved

Environment Rhode Island et al. v. City of Newport

A small group of Newport, RI residents, self-dubbed the “Sewer Rats,” spent over a decade monitoring the city’s illegal sewage discharges and urging local officials to protect Rhode Island’s beaches from raw sewage contamination. Because Newport had not fully separated its sewage drains from stormwater drains, it suffered “combined sewer overflows,” in which untreated sewage […]

Clean Water
Resolved

Environment Rhode Island v. Town of Middleton

Middletown, RI’s sewage overflows and stormwater discharges, in conjunction with stormwater contamination from the adjacent city of Newport, repeatedly forced closures of popular public beaches on Easton’s Bay. During closures, residents were warned not to swim in the bay due to health hazards caused by high concentrations of fecal coliform and enterococcus bacteria. In 2008, […]

Clean Water
Resolved

PennEnvironment, Sierra Club v. GenOn Northeast Management Company

Selenium causes skeletal deformities in fish and can harm people and birds that consume affected fish. Iron, aluminum, and manganese block fish gills, smother fish eggs, and make aquatic life impossible at high enough concentrations. Boron prevents normal growth in waterfowl. For years, the massive coal-fired Conemaugh Generating Station — owned by a consortium of […]

Clean Water