Ruling May Boost Judicial Discretion To Limit Epa Cleanup Penalties

摘要

The recent federal court ruling upholding EPA's authority to issue unilateral cleanup orders for Superfund sites also reinforces courts' discretion over what penalties to impose on polluters who refuse to comply, which could ultimately limit the agency's success in imposing the maximum penalties for noncompliance. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Jan. 27 in General Electric Corp. (GE) v. EPA to reject a constitutional challenge to section 106 of the Superfund law, a provision that allows EPA to issue unilateral administrative orders (UAOs) on responsible parties to prevent "imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment." The ruling is available on InsideEPA.com. See page 2 for details.