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at 318. The Court has explained that voluntary cessation "is an important factor bearing on the question whether a court should exercise its power to enjoin the defendant from renewing the practice, but that is a matter relating to the exercise rather than the existence of judicial power." By the late 1980s, the only 3 remaining district school bus contracts were at Petersburg, Norfolk and Hopewell. Friends of the Earth brought an enforcement action against Laidlaw pursuant to the citizen-suit provision of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act). Periodical U.S. Reports: Friends of the Earth, Inc., v. Laidlaw Environmental Services In 1979, it acquired a Canadian contract school bus business. at 610-611 (J.A. WebI - ISSUES RAISED BY FRIENDS OF THE EARTH V.LAIDLAW - PIERCE.DOC 04/25/01 9:37 AM 207 ISSUES RAISED BY FRIENDS OF THE EARTH V. LAIDLAW ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES: ACCESS TO THE COURTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PLAINTIFFS RICHARD J. LAIDLAW ENVIRONMENTAL Gwaltney, 484 U.S. at 66 (quoting Concentrated Phosphate Export Ass'n, 393 U.S. at 203) (emphasis added by the Court in Gwaltney). at 760-761. at 611 (J.A. District Court found that Laidlaw had gained a total economic benefit of $1,092,581 as a result of its extended period of noncompliance with the permit's mercury discharge limit; nevertheless, the court concluded that a civil penalty of $405,800 was appropriate. Comstock Environmental Expands Mid-Atlantic Presence In the 1970s he would increasingly focus on waste management and other areas, shifting away from the boom-or-bust trucking industry, which had a tendency to rise and fall with the economy. CWA 505(d), 33 U.S.C. (TOC), Inc., 890 F. Supp. WebTES has successfully provided environmental, safety, and industrial hygiene solutions to our clients since 1984. The Court expressed no doubt that the federal or state governments could bring suit to punish past violations, but a private citizen could not sue to impose civil penalties unless that relief "would likely remedy its alleged injury in fact." No warranties, expressed or implied, are provided for the business data on this site, its use, or its interpretation. As Section 505(a) makes clear, a citizen may ask the district court to "apply any appropriate civil penalties under [Section 309(d), 33 U.S.C. See Hewitt, 482 U.S. at 761 ("In all civil litigation, the judicial decree is not the end but the means."). in Opp. Decided: November 22, 1999 WebWe put it to work as energy to make cement. COMPANY NEWS; LAIDLAW ENVIRONMENTAL ADJUSTS BID FOR No. (TOC), Inc., 956 F. Supp. Friends of the Earth, Inc. brought an action against Laidlaw on the grounds that one of its plants was discharging more mercury than its permit allowed. The state court approved the settlement on June 10, 1992, the day after the expiration of Section 505(b)'s 60-day notice period, 33 U.S.C. 183). Laidlaw Environmental Services is a renewables & environment company based out of 4101 Washington Ave, Newport News, Virginia, United States. See CWA 309, 33 U.S.C. 123.1 et seq. Decided November 22, 1999. See, e.g., Steel Co., 523 U.S. at 102-104; Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 559-560 (1992). For example, the Court stated in Hewitt, supra, a case arising under 42 U.S.C. Grant Co., 345 U.S. at 636). Read More Syllabus Rather, the Court concluded that the Clean Water Act gives a court discretion to choose relief "that will achieve compliance with the Act." 7a n.3. III, 2. In Romero-Barcelo, citizens demanded an injunction to abate government discharges of ordnance, which qualified as a pollutant under the Clean Water Act. 183). The court stated that "these elements must continue to exist at every stage of review" or else "the action becomes moot." Troubles at Laidlaw, however, continued to dog DeGroote even after heleft. The amendment, which prohibits a court from awarding fees to a losing party, does not appear to restrict the court's power to award fees to a citizen who can show that the suit prompted the defendant to come into compliance. Laidlaw began to discharge various pollutants into the waterway. This Court applies the mootness doctrine to determine whether circumstances have changed during the course of the litigation so as to eliminate the case or controversy that the plaintiff had previously shown to exist. Pet. City of Mesquite, 455 U.S. at 289 n.10. at 320. 1363, 1384 (1973)). 1 n.1. 1319(b), and the imposition of criminal, civil, and administrative penalties, 33 U.S.C. (J.A. The order also contains the following: CONCLUSION OF LAW. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. filed as a Domestic Business Corporation in the State of New York on Wednesday, May 7, 1980 and is approximately forty-three years old, as recorded in documents filed with New York Department of State. Get the inside scoop on jobs, salaries, top office locations, and CEO insights. Laidlaw Environmental Services Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. See, e.g., City of Mesquite v. Aladdin's Castle, Inc., 455 U.S. 283, 288-289 (1982); United States v. Concentrated Phosphate Export Ass'n, 393 U.S. 199, 203 (1968); United States v. W.T. Instead, the defendant must show that "subsequent events made it absolutely clear that the allegedly wrongful behavior could not reasonably be expected to recur." Proposed stipulated penalty of $61,500 for violations of specified operatingrequirements in their hazardous waste storage facility. After FOE initiated this suit, but before the District Court rendered judgment on January 22, 1997, Laidlaw violated the mercury discharge limitation in its permit 13 times and committed 13 monitoring and 10 reporting violations. The court ultimately found that Laidlaw had violated the permit's mercury limitation 489 times, including nine times after petitioners filed their complaint. Petitioners Friends of the Earth, Inc., Citizens Local Environmental Action Network, Inc., and the Sierra Club brought this citizen suit against respondent Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc., to enjoin Laidlaw's violations of its Clean Water Act permit. 1365(a)(1)), allows the citizen to commence suit in response to "a state of either continuous or intermittent violation-that is, a reasonable likelihood that a past polluter will continue to pollute in the future." "3In 1993, DeGroote and associates paid $23 million to the Ontario SecuritiesCommission in a settlement for insider trading involving Laidlaw stock. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Beginning in 1972, under the leadership of Michael DeGroote, Laidlaw, Inc. began growing through acquisitions of other companies when it acquired a Canadian intercity and charter bus company. 98-10463-MEL. Mike McClung Fined $214,000 for four hazardous waste violations: improper disposal ofinfectious waste, inadequate treatment of sewer sludge, insufficient testingof debris and soil, and excessive contamination of waste at its landfill.As one top agency official put it, "Laidlaw must be more diligent in itsoperations.". WebLAIDLAW WASTE SYSTEMS INC is located at and is classified as a Transporter by the Environmental Protection Agency. at 601-610 (J.A. But if the court of appeals nevertheless believed that Laidlaw's "voluntary" compliance, by itself, may have eliminated any reasonable prospect of future violations, then the court of appeals should have remanded the case to the district court for an express finding on that matter. Laidlaw Environmental Services - Interim Decision, December See Arizonans for Official English, 520 U.S. at 67-68. A district court does not necessarily transgress Article III's case-or-controversy limitation by resolving a Clean Water Act citizen suit through the imposition of civil penalties as the sole form of relief. . Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), App. But as this Court explained in Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U.S. 305 (1982), the Clean Water Act does not employ injunctions as "the only means of ensuring compliance." at 9a n.5 (quoting CWA 505(d), 33 U.S.C. Congress drew that factor, as well as others, from EPA's pre-existing civil penalty policy. 7a. 33 U.S.C. free to return to his old ways.'" Laidlaw Environmental Services - Ruling and Order Indeed, that is what the district court apparently concluded here. A Defendant's Voluntary Cessation Of Permit Violations Does Not Moot A Citizen Suit Unless The Defendant Demonstrates That The Permit Violations Will Not Recur The constitutional doctrines of standing and mootness each originate from Article III's specification that the "judicial Power" extends only to "Cases" or "Controversies." An NPDES permit also typically imposes monitoring and reporting obligations, which require the facility to measure its discharges at prescribed times and document those measurements through publicly available discharge monitoring reports (DMRs). Cadence Environmental Energy DREC acceded to Laidlaw's request to file a lawsuit against the company. 1988." Laidlaw 182-183). See generally Robert L. Stern, et al., Supreme Court Practice 710-721 (7th ed. 1365. 2. Although the court of appeals appears wrong in suggesting that petitioners are not entitled to recover their litigation costs, that matter should be addressed, if it becomes necessary, through the proceedings on remand. TES has developed and sustained partnerships with thousands of clients including petrochemical facilities, manufacturing facilities, shipyards, offshore facilities, chemical plants, hospitals, and Furthermore, the court, "in issuing any final order in any action brought pursuant to this section, may award costs of litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) to any prevailing or substantially prevailing party, whenever the court determines such award is appropriate." See also Maher v. Gagne, 448 U.S. 122, 129 (1980) ("for purposes of the award of counsel fees [under 42 U.S.C. Allied Waste SystemsAllied's Chief Executive Officer, Roger Ramsey, was the Vice Presidentand Chief Financial Officer for BFI from 1968 to 1976. Moreover, even if the court of appeals' methodology were proper, its analysis overlooks the relationship between injunctive relief and civil penalties under the Clean Water Act, which would be an essential consideration in evaluating whether petitioners' citizen suit against Laidlaw is indeed moot.5 The court of appeals should have begun by applying this Court's teachings that a defendant's voluntary cessation of unlawful conduct does not automatically moot a case.