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Taft's Environmental Practice provides nationally recognized services in the areas of trial practice, Superfund defense and negotiation, enforcement defense, cost-recovery for plaintiffs and defendants, criminal environmental defense, environmental insurance and toxic tort litigation, mold and sick building litigation, lawsuits involving environmental problems discovered as a result of real property transfers or mergers and acquisitions, Brownfields redevelopment, defense of claims of occupational exposures, and administrative proceedings before state and federal agencies. Taft's environmental lawyers also regularly are engaged in insurance disputes concerning environmental issues and agricultural issues involving CAFOs and CFOs. As a Taft client, you can utilize the capital of 29 intensely motivated and focused attorneys in all facets of environmental law. |
Respondeat Superior Under Ohio Environmental Law
Are Ohio employers liable for environmental violations caused by employees who consciously violate company policies? The Ohio Supreme Court answered this question "No," but apparently one Ohio Court of Appeals now sees fit to ignore the mandate of the Ohio Supreme Court.
In State of Ohio ex rel. Attorney General v. State Line Agri, Inc., 2011 WL 1753327, 2011 -Ohio- 2191 (Ohio App. 2 Dist., May 2, 2011), the court of appeals affirmed the trial court's holding that an employer was liable under Ohio's environmental laws when its employee spread manure in direct violation of company policies.
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New Statutes of Limitations for Indiana Environmental Claims
Before enactment of Senate Enrolled Act 346 (the "Act"), the statute of limitations for claims under Indiana's Underground Storage Tank Act ("USTA") and Environmental Legal Action statute ("ELA") was at best, ambiguous. The USTA allows recovery against the owner or operator of a UST at the time of release of a contaminant. Somewhat similarly, the ELA allows recovery of costs associated with remediating contaminated property against anyone who caused or contributed to the contamination. However, neither the USTA nor the ELA provide a timeline stating when a person must file a claim. The statutes' ambiguity caused a great deal of confusion in Indiana's courts.
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DC Microgrids: Next Big Trend in Renewable Energy?
When Thomas Edison pioneered the sale and delivery of electric power, he envisioned small, local power generators delivering electricity to a limited number of customers using direct current (DC). DC worked well with light bulbs and the electric motors of the time, while no practical alternating current (AC) motor was available. In the "current wars" of the day, however, AC power advanced by Nicola Tesla and George Westinghouse came to dominate electricity generation and transmission almost exclusively. AC could be transmitted more efficiently over long distances at high voltage while using lower current. AC could also easily be stepped down to lower voltages for use in homes and factories when necessary. Thus, AC could take better advantage of larger economies of scale enjoyed by large power plants. » continue reading |
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U.S. EPA's Use of FIFRA to Control the Marketplace is Rejected by Court
Nalco Company, a world-wide provider of water treatment services, worked with the U.S. EPA for three years to ensure that its OxiPRO™ system was FIFRA compliant. But EPA's unprecedented move to control the market among Nalco and its competitors surely exceeded anyone's expectations, especially Judge Rosemary Collyer's.
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Nutrients: U.S. EPA and Environmental Groups Take on the Midwest's Nutrient Water Pollution
Midwestern States are starting to feel the fallout from U.S. EPA's recent announcement that they are encouraged to develop numeric water quality criteria for the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus in receiving waters.
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| Using Aerial Photography to Win Environmental Cases
Most environmental lawyers and consultants are first introduced to aerial photographs when reviewing Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) prepared in accordance with ASTM E-1527-05. However, the use of aerial imagery in Phase I ESA reports to determine historical site conditions barely scratches the surface of the effective use of aerial photography.
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| Farmers Beware: Jury Finds Egg Farm to be a Nuisance
Olivera Egg Ranch ("Olivera"), an egg farm in French Camp, California, will pay $500,000 in nuisance damages awarded by a jury to eight nearby residents (the "Neighbors"). The Neighbors complained of Olivera's improper waste disposal and repulsive odors emanating from the 130,000+ pounds of manure generated by Olivera's chickens each day. Olivera operated a 13 acre lagoon to dispose of and process its manure.
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| U.S. EPA Recovers Over $5 Million Against Egg Farm for Clean Water Act Violations
Mahard Egg Farm, Inc. ("Mahard"), after settling claims asserted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("USEPA"), will pay $1.9 Million in penalties and an estimated $3.5 Million in cleanup costs due to its violation of the Clean Water Act ("CWA"). The government filed a complaint against Mahard alleging violations of the CWA and of Texas and Oklahoma law. USEPA alleged that Mahard operated several concentrated animal feeding operations ("CAFOs") in Texas and Oklahoma from which it discharged pollutants into waterways without a CWA permit.
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