Articles on Environmental Law | Illinois State Bar Association

Parent company liability for its subsidiary’s environmental performance By Kurt A. Strasser Environmental and Natural Resources Law, March 2005 When does the environmental performance of a subsidiary increase the risk of liability for corporate parents?

Supreme Court upholds Agpro By Raymond T. Reott Environmental and Natural Resources Law, March 2005 In the last edition of the newsletter, we featured the decision in People v. Agpro, Inc. 34 5 Ill.App. 3d 1011(First Dist. 2004) and the later legislative change to the related enforcement provisions of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act. 41 Ill.CS 5/1.

Using supplemental environmental projects as settlement tools By Christine Picker Rothchild & Raymond T. Reott Environmental and Natural Resources Law, March 2005 The scenario: Company X receives a Notice of Violation, a complaint from a government agency or a citizen's group, or even an administrative order.

CAFOs and air emissions By Michael C. White Environmental and Natural Resources Law, November 2004 Until recently, many commercial agricultural activities in the United States have been exempt from certain requirements of federal and state environmental laws.

Case Review: People v. J. Harrison as Trustee under trust No. 410 - A look at the use of alternative service in environmental enforcement actions By Lisle A. Stalter Environmental and Natural Resources Law, November 2004 Many techniques have been used to protect property owners from liability for the condition of their property.

General Assembly legislatively overrules Ryan v. Agpro By Jorge Mihalopoulos Environmental and Natural Resources Law, November 2004 In January of 2004, the Appellate Court of Illinois for the Second District decided Ryan v. Agpro, Inc., 345 Ill. App. 3d 1011, 803 N.E.2d 1007, 281 Ill.Dec. 386 (2nd Dist. 2004).

Supreme Court wrap-up By Channing J. Martin Environmental and Natural Resources Law, November 2004 (Notice to librarians: The following issues were published in Volume 34 of this newsletter during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004: August, No. 1; October, No. 2; January, No. 3; June, No. 4).

Gerwin v. Livingston County Board1: The Open Meetings Act and its impact on hearings By Lisle A. Stalter Environmental and Natural Resources Law, June 2004 American Disposal Services operates a landfill in unincorporated Livingston County, near Pontiac, Illinois.

Phase II stormwater discharge permits and the Tenth Amendment By Jorge Mihalopoulos Environmental and Natural Resources Law, June 2004 The Tenth Amendment provides that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." U.S. Const. Amend. X. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, this protection of dual sovereignty prohibits the federal government from compelling state and local governments to regulate their residents according to federal standards.

Setting a limit on environmental lawsuits By James D. Brusslan Environmental and Natural Resources Law, June 2004 It is common during negotiations for the sale of industrial property for the parties to assure that the site meets environmental standards.

The confused state of the useful product defense By Jeffrey M. Pollock Environmental and Natural Resources Law, January 2004 CERCLA section 107(a)(3) provides that a person is liable for the disposal of a hazardous substance. Specifically, any person who "arranged for disposal . . . of hazardous substances owned by such person" is covered by the broad grasp of CERCLA liability.

Environmental insurance success By Raymond T. Reott Environmental and Natural Resources Law, January 2004 Experienced practitioners representing industrial entities know that the comprehensive general liability ("CGL") insurance policies purchased by those entities often can be used to provide coverage for various types of environmental claims.

The use of TMDLs to regulate nonpoint sources of water pollution By Jorge Mihalopoulos Environmental and Natural Resources Law, January 2004 A nonpoint source of water pollution is generally understood to be pollution in the form of runoff from farming, ranching, forestry and land development activities.

The tide rises once again: Definition of wetlands revisited By James K. Weston Mineral Law, December 2003 A recent Virginia case, Treacy v. Newdunn Associates, analyzed once again the definition of "navigable waters" under the Clean Water Act.

The process of siting a municipal waste transfer station or landfill By David W. McArdle October 2003 Siting municipal or county waste transfer stations and landfills presents unusual problems for local governments.

“Des Plaines trilogy” takes another hit: Second District tackles running battle between North Shore Sanitary District and City of Waukegan By Phillip R. Van Ness Environmental and Natural Resources Law, August 2003 Recent news reports that the Hatfield and McCoy clans have formally entered a "peace treaty" to end their decades-long feud now shifts the mantel of legendary ongoing tiff to Waukegan.

Fees, fees and more fees: The price of permits has just gotten pricier By Claire A. Manning Environmental and Natural Resources Law, August 2003 In an attempt to resolve the state's current budget crisis, the Governor and Illinois' 93rd General Assembly passed whopping fee increases, many of them on environmental fees and permits, substantially increasing the cost of doing business in this state.

Legislative update: Environmental legislation from the 93rd General Assembly By Claire A. Manning & Kevin B. Hynes Environmental and Natural Resources Law, August 2003 While the 93rd General Assembly was plagued with perhaps the most significant budget crisis in Illinois' history, it nonetheless found time to pass several serious pieces of environmental legislation, amending the Environmental Protection Act both procedurally and substantively.

The process of siting a municipal waste transfer station or landfill By David W. McArdle Local Government Law, August 2003 Siting municipal or county waste transfer stations and landfills presents unusual problems for local governments.

Four phone calls about the Clean Air Act that lawyers should be able to handle By Eric E. Boyd Environmental and Natural Resources Law, June 2003 It is almost five o'clock, and you receive a call from your client with a Clean Air Act question.

Recent Clean Air Act developments By Eric E. Boyd Environmental and Natural Resources Law, June 2003 After two and a half years of litigation, the U.S. EPA recently issued Guidance on the Definition of Federally Permitted Releases for Certain Air Emissions.

Superfund liability changes By Raymond T. Reott Environmental and Natural Resources Law, June 2003 Last year saw a major revision of the federal Superfund Program with several important changes in the liability standards. Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, P.L. 107 118 (2002).

Environmental alert—Can you handle basic emergency calls from your client company? By Eric E. Boyd Corporate Law Departments, March 2003 It's almost five o'clock, and you receive a call from your client with a Clean Air Act question.

The Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) revised rule By Michael R. Berman Environmental and Natural Resources Law, February 2003 On December 16, 2002, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) announced a final rule that will require all large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to obtain permits that will ensure they protect America's waters from wastewater and manure.

LUST in the Legislature By Kyle Rominger Environmental and Natural Resources Law, February 2003 Among the legislation signed into law in 2002 were two Public Acts amending the Illinois Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Program.

The pros & cons of environmental auditing By David B. Wilcoxen Environmental and Natural Resources Law, February 2003 Do you counsel a large company or public organization that maintains numerous facilities engaged in a variety of industrial, commercial, and research operations?

U.S. EPA underground storage tank program: The new millenium, MTBE, and the future By Thomas J. Kenney Environmental and Natural Resources Law, February 2003 When Congress amended the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA)2 in 1984, it created the statutory authority for the federal regulation of underground storage tanks (USTs).

City of Springfield v. Hashman: 4th District says close enough is good enough By Gene Schmittgens & Anna Chesser Smith Environmental and Natural Resources Law, December 2002 In City of Springfield v. Hashman, 774 N.E.2d 427, 266 Ill.Dec. 321 (July 29, 2002), the appellate court for the Fourth District enjoined the development of a 22.408-acre parcel of land located outside the limits of the City of Springfield but within 200 feet of Lake Springfield, the primary water supply of the City and Sangamon County.

Clerk’s Office On-Line: Illinois Pollution Control Board’s “COOL” By Claire A. Manning & Richard R. McGill Environmental and Natural Resources Law, December 2002 Ever since its introduction at the Illinois Pollution Control Board's 25th anniversary in Chicago in 1995, the Board's Web site has become a widely-used resource.

Enviro-Science e-Print Service offers help in environmental research Environmental and Natural Resources Law, December 2002 The Enviro-Science e-Print Service is a multi-agency project of DOE's Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP), the U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, content partners, and sponsors.

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