Environmental Law

BP Oil Spill Settlement

Today BP agreed to an $18.7B settlement agreement regarding its role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The settlement effectively ends all federal and state claims against the oil giant. Here is a breakdown of that $18.7B figure:

$5.5B for violation of the Clean Water Act;
$7.3B for damage to natural resources;
$4.9B for state claims (LA, MS, AL, FLA);
$1.0B in claims by local governments.

This outcome is the largest environmental law settlement in US history.

Benefits […]

By Matthew Barison|2020-11-01T17:37:58+00:00July 2, 2015|Environmental Law|0 Comments

Citizen Suit Forces Georgia City to Clean Up Raw Sewage
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Citizen Suit Forces Georgia City to Clean Up Raw Sewage

Environmental Law, Race

Citizen Suit Forces Georgia City to Clean Up Raw Sewage

The Clean Water Act (CWA), passed in 1972, is one of America’s most important pieces of environmental legislation. The law regulates the release of pollutants into surface waters, and establishes federal enforcement authority. A key component of the CWA is the “citizens’ suit” provision which gives individuals the right to sue not only polluters themselves, but also the government for failure to exercise its enforcement authority.

The CWA’s citizens’ suit authority was recently invoked in a case out of […]

By Matthew Barison|2020-11-01T17:38:15+00:00August 18, 2014|Environmental Law, Race|0 Comments