The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a decision on August 3, 2026, which clarified the scope of the diligent prosecution bar to citizen suits under the Clean Air Act (“CAA”).  The decision was a partial victory for the environmental organizations that brought the lawsuit and adds to the body of appellate decisions aiming to elucidate this heavily litigated area of the law. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Air, CERCLA, Citizen Suit, Citizens Suit, Clean Air Act, Colorado, Consent Decree, Diligent Prosecution, Emissions, EPA, Loper Bright, Pollutants, Superfund, Tenth Circuit

Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held in City of Brunswick v. Honeywell International, Inc., 2026 WL 2224648 (11th Cir. Aug. 3, 2026), that potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) implementing an EPA-selected CERCLA remedy pursuant to a consent decree may be “acting under” a federal officer for purposes of the federal officer removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). The decision may provide a basis for such PRPs to remove related state-law claims to federal court. The decision also holds that an appeal of a remand order involving federal officer removal automatically stays district court proceedings, including the remand order, pending appeal. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Causation, CERCLA, Cleanup, Consent Decree, Contamination, Eleventh Circuit, EPA, Federal Jurisdiction, Potentially Responsible Parties, Preemption, Remediation, Removal, Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Superfund

A recent decision from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania offers insight into cost recovery claims under both the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) and Pennsylvania's Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (“HSCA”).  On March 6, 2026, in Blettner Avenue, LLC v. Central Uniform Services, Inc., the Middle District denied Defendants Rental Uniform Services, Inc. (“Rental Uniform Services”) and Cintas Corporation (“Cintas”)’s motion for summary judgment as to Plaintiff Blettner Avenue, LLC (“Blettner”)’s HSCA claim, shedding light on HSCA’s time limitation provision and the scope of “response costs” under the statute.  On the other hand, the Court granted Defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to Blettner’s CERCLA claim, finding Blettner failed to comply with National Contingency Plan (“NCP”) requirements.  The decision provides useful insight for practitioners to consider regarding statute of limitation under HSCA, the scope of “response costs” under HSCA and CERCLA, and NCP compliance under CERCLA. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: CERCLA, Cleanup, Contamination, Damages, Groundwater, HSCA, National Contingency Plan, Pennsylvania, Remediation, Statute of Limitations, Third Circuit, Water

A federal district court in Massachusetts recently issued companion decisions addressing the “useful product defense” in the context of biosolids that contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  In twin orders dated December 30, 2025, the court held that biosolid pellets, or “biopellets”—which are produced from treated wastewater solids and used as fertilizer—are “useful products,” providing a defense to liability under Massachusetts’s analogue to the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: CERCLA, Class Actions, Contamination, Drinking Water, Massachusetts, Negligence, Nuisance, PFAS, Pollutants, Water

In a reversal of a decision by the New Jersey District Court, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in In re Congoleum Corporation held 2-1 that the bankruptcy court did not have jurisdiction to reopen an earlier proceeding to interpret findings within a confirmation order, holding interpretation of such orders constitutes a bankruptcy core proceeding.  Chief Judge Chagares also reversed the district court as to the effect of that confirmation order in CERCLA proceedings currently pending before the district court. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Bankruptcy, CERCLA, Cleanup, Contamination, Contribution, Cost Recovery, New Jersey, Potentially Responsible Parties, Superfund, Third Circuit

This month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Confederated Tribes of the Colville Rsrv. v. Teck Cominco Metals Ltd, No. 24-5565, 2025 WL 2525853 (9th Cir. Sept. 3, 2025) that CERCLA permits recovery of natural resource damages with a cultural use component, effectively reversing the district court’s holding that cultural resource damages are not authorized under CERCLA. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: CERCLA, Citizen Suit, Citizens Suit, Contamination, Natural Resource Damages, Ninth Circuit, Pollutants, Tribal Lands, Water, Water Use

A recent decision sheds light on the U.S. government’s cleanup obligations in land sales involving former military sites.  In Hamilton Square, LLC v. United States, No. 20-1285 (Fed. Cl. July 15, 2025), the U.S. Court of Federal Claims allowed a key environmental remediation claim to proceed while dismissing others in a suit alleging the Navy breached its obligation to remediate newly discovered petroleum and chloroform contamination at a property in Novato, California. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Breach of Contract, CERCLA, Cleanup, Contamination, Court of Federal Claims, Oil and Gas, Pollutants, Remediation, Vapor Intrusion

This post was written by MGKF summer associate Kennedy Reardon

On July 17, 2025, the Second Circuit issued an opinion in ELG Utica Alloys, Inc. v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. affirming an order granting summary judgment against ELG Utica Alloys, Inc.’s (“ELG”) in its CERCLA cost recovery suit, on the grounds that the applicable six-year statute of limitations had expired.  The decision is significant because it establishes a rule in the Second Circuit that, for a multi-phase remediation involving a single source of contamination at a single “facility,” the statute of limitations begins to run at the initiation of the first phase of cleanup. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: CERCLA, Contamination, Cost Recovery, New York, Remediation, Second Circuit, Superfund

Last month in Atlantic Richfield Company v. NL Industries, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that plaintiff Atlantic Richfield’s action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) was timely, reversing the District Court’s determination applying the statute of limitations for cost recovery actions and granting summary judgment to the defendant NL Industries entities on that basis. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: CERCLA, Contribution, Cost Recovery, Potentially Responsible Parties, Statute of Limitations, Superfund, Tenth Circuit

In joint tortfeasor settlements in private party actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), courts can choose from two competing federal contribution protection methods: the Uniform Comparative Fault Act (“UCFA”), known as pro rata, and the Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act (“UCATA”), known as pro tanto.  Last month, in City of Las Cruces and Dona Ana County v The Lofts of Alameda, LLC, Civil Action No. 2:17-cv-00809-JCH-GBW, 2024 WL 4512434, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico considered the merits of both contribution protection methods and concluded that the pro rata approach was the most equitable under the circumstances.  Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Allocation, CERCLA, Contribution, Cost Recovery, Good Faith Settlement, New Mexico, Potentially Responsible Parties, Solvents, Superfund