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Beveridge & Diamond is a leading environmental, land use and litigation law firm based in Washington, DC, with offices in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Texas.
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- Peter C. Anderson
- James M. Auslander
- David A. Barker
- Gus B. Bauman
- Daniel P. Berner
- Daniel M. Brian
- Megan R. Brillault
- Lily N. Chinn
- Nadira Clarke
- Richard S. Davis
- Laura Metz Duncan
- Mark N. Duvall
- Russell N. Fraker
- Bethany S. French
- David M. Friedland
- Aaron H. Goldberg
- Marc J. Goldstein
- Jeanine L.G. Grachuk
- Edward M. Grauman
- Paul E. Hagen
- Karen M. Hansen
- Lauren A. Hopkins
- Steven M. Jawetz
- Aladdine D. Joroff
- Madeleine Boyer Kadas
- Heidi P. Knight
- Daniel M. Krainin
- K. Russell LaMotte
- Jayni A. Lanham
- Laura L. LaValle
- Brian C. Levey
- Pamela D. Marks
- Bryan J. Moore
- W. Parker Moore
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- John H. Paul
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- Peter J. Schaumberg
- Aron H. Schnur
- James B. Slaughter
- Gary J. Smith
- Timothy M. Sullivan
- Kathryn E. Szmuszkovicz
- Ryan R. Tacorda
- Linda Tsang
- Kari L. Twaite
- Nicholas W. van Aelstyn
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- Benjamin F. Wilson
- Alexandra M. ("Andie") Wyatt
- Graham C. Zorn
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Showing 12 posts in Water. View our practice description for Water.
Defense Research Institute Reports on Beveridge & Diamond Summary Judgment Win in Mass Tort Case
DRI, the leading organization for defense lawyers, reports in its latest issue of its online magazine The Voice on the Firm’s recent win in a mass tort case, securing summary judgment and dismissal of toxic tort and nuisance claims related to the recycling of biosolids on farm land. Gilbert v. Synagro, 2012 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 323 (York Cnty. Pa. Ct. C.P. Dec. 28., 2012) To read the article, click here.
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds CWA Logging Roads Exemption, Endorses Citizen Suit Enforcement of Ambiguous Agency Rules
In an opinion issued on March 20, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulatory interpretation that logging road runoff is not subject to industrial stormwater permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center, No. 11-338 (U.S. Mar. 20, 2013). The Court also found that plaintiffs had properly brought their suit under the CWA’s citizen suit provision, 33 U.S.C. § 1365, because they did not make a direct facial challenge to EPA’s regulations but instead sought to impose their interpretation of the CWA on a commercial operator where EPA’s rule on the issue was ambiguous. The Court’s decision originated from a pair of cases from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressing the proper application of EPA’s Silvicultural Rule (40 C.F.R. § 122.27), one of the agency’s industrial stormwater regulations, which establishes a permitting exclusion for stormwater discharges from logging roads. Read More ›
Beveridge & Diamond Wins Defense Summary Judgment in Mass Tort Case
Working with Pennsylvania co-counsel, Beveridge & Diamond secured summary judgment dismissing all counts in a toxic tort/nuisance case venued in York County, Pennsylvania. The Plaintiffs alleged that land application of biosolids (treated sewage sludge) to farm land near their homes constituted a nuisance and caused personal injuries. The court held that the use of biosolids as a fertilizer was a protected farming activity under the Pennsylvania Right to Farm Act’s statute of repose, and stated that use of biosolids is not significantly different from other organic fertilizers that farmers have traditionally used. The court also held that the Plaintiffs could not prove that the land applier, farmer and land owner owed a legal duty to the neighbors regarding off-site odors. The court also rejected claims that odors from biosolids could be a trespass. Read More ›
Supreme Court Reaffirms CWA Discharge Ruling in L.A. Stormwater Case
On January 8, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld its 2004 ruling that the movement of polluted water between separate sections of the same waterbody does not constitute a “discharge” of pollutants requiring a permit under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). In Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. NRDC, No. 11-460 (Jan. 8, 2013), the Justices addressed only the discharge issue on which it had granted review, declining to consider broader questions relating to the interpretation of CWA permit terms and the validity of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) contentious “water transfer rule.” Accordingly, while permittees may take comfort in the Court’s reiteration of existing law, they also must be mindful that decisions on these other important issues likely lie just over the horizon. Read More ›
Supreme Court Hears L.A. Stormwater Case
On December 4, 2012, the United States Supreme Court considered the potential liability of the Los Angeles County Flood Control District (the “District”) for stormwater runoff under a municipal stormwater permit. (Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. NRDC, No 11-460, oral argument 12/4/2012). The District asked the Supreme Court to reverse a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which had held that the District violated its permit by channeling stormwater into the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers, and to remand the case to the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its decision to evaluate channelized portions of the rivers as distinct waterbodies. If the substance and tone of the Justices’ questions during the argument are any indication, the Court appears likely to side with the District. Read More ›
MassDEP Continues Efforts at Regulatory Reform Affecting Nearly All Agency Programs
MassDEP has conducted an extensive review of its regulations and programs searching for opportunities to improve its efficiency. During the spring, MassDEP sought public input on which specific changes should be made. During October, MassDEP published an update on its progress, located at http://www.mass.gov/dep/about/priorities/regreform/1012update.htm. Here is a brief summary of the proposed reforms, based on the recent update: Read More ›
Kansas High Court Rejects Special Rule for Water Contamination Cases
Rejecting a special rule that would have imposed strict liability for any activity resulting in the contamination of “water resources,” the Kansas Supreme Court reversed a trial court’s ruling that Defendant was strictly liable because its activities, which allegedly resulted in groundwater contamination at a former refinery location, were abnormally dangerous as a matter of law. Read More ›
Supreme Court Rules Property Owners May Challenge EPA Compliance Orders
In a closely-watched case, the U.S. Supreme Court on March 21 told the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to stop “strong-arming . . . regulated parties” who wish to go directly to court to contest compliance orders that assert jurisdiction over wetlands as well as other waters under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). EPA had long maintained that property owners could not challenge in court the assertion of jurisdiction over wetlands and waters when EPA issues compliance orders against owners for filling those features without a permit. Accordingly, property owners had to wait for EPA to bring a civil suit against them for alleged CWA violations before they could argue in front of a judge that the wetlands or waters were not subject to federal jurisdiction. Meanwhile, EPA could and would assess heavy financial penalties against owners for each day they failed to abide by a compliance order, even if an owner believed the U.S. had no jurisdiction over its land. Read More ›
Beveridge & Diamond Leads Successful Defense of Power Plant Permit in Case of First Impression in Texas
Beveridge & Diamond’s Texas office secured a ruling from a Texas state district court denying novel claims that a wastewater permit for a Texas power plant was issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in violation of the plaintiffs’ due process rights. The district court’s ruling signals that the principles of associational standing and adequate representation, as recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Texas Supreme Court, are applicable to administrative hearings in Texas. Read More ›
D.C. Trial Court Rejects Product Liability, Related Claims Alleging Corrosive Drinking Water
Underscoring that regulatory standards and compliance can sometimes provide a defense against liability, particularly where the alleged product defects have nothing to do with the intended uses of the product, Beveridge & Diamond successfully defended a major water utility against claims that the drinking water it delivered caused pinhole leaks in plumbing. Read More ›