33 U.S.C. Virginia Overland Transportation was an operator of public service transportation and a much smaller industry consolidator in the state. Because the Fourth Circuit was persuaded that the case had become moot, it simply assumed that FOE had initial standing. at 5a. Laidlaw Environmental Services at 102-110. Citing Steel Co. v. Citizens for Better Environment, 523 U. S. 83, the court reasoned that the only remedy currently available to FOE, civil penalties payable to the Government, would not redress any injury FOE had suffered. 1365(g), and an "effluent standard or limitation" includes a state NPDES "permit or condition thereof," CWA 505(f), 33 U.S.C. If it did, courts would be compelled to leave the defendant free to return to its old ways. 19:393 the Earth v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc.,2 a private en forcement action brought pursuant to the Clean Water Act (the "Act").3 The four opinions barely mention the substantive con cerns of the Act and are devoted to justiciability issues - stand ing and mootness. But the citizen, unlike the federal or state government, may not bring suit simply to assess civil penalties for "wholly past violations." See CWA 402(a)(2), 33 U.S.C. Laidlaw I, 890 F. Supp. The citizens argued that their suit could nevertheless proceed because EPCRA, unlike the Clean Water Act, authorized citizens to obtain a judicial assessment of civil penalties for past infractions. Congress accordingly enacted Section 505 of the Clean Water Act, which empowers citizens who are adversely affected by permit violations to bring civil enforcement actions to compel compliance. We begin by explaining the content and objectives of the citizen-enforcement provisions. Here, unlike the situation in Steel Co., petitioners had more than merely a "generalized interest in deterrence." 149). 1365, authorizes private citizens to bring civil actions to enforce the Act's requirements. Congress empowered the government to seek civil penalties to punish wrongful conduct as well as to deter future violations, both of which are proper government objectives. Laidlaw 470, 475 (D.S.C. Glen Roberts was the MedTrans CEO and Donald Jones, COO, at the time of the Laidlaw acquisition. 98-10463-MEL. No. CONCLUSION The judgment of the court of appeals should be vacated and the case remanded for further proceedings. See pp. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 1998); Atlantic States Legal Found., Inc. v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 897 F.2d 1128, 1137 (11th Cir. Data inaccuracies may exist. (TOC), Inc., 890 F. Supp. See, e.g., Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. at 561; Lujan v. National Wildlife Fed'n, 497 U.S. 871, 883-889 (1990); Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood, 441 U.S. 91, 114-115 & n.31 (1979). The Court has indicated that those mootness principles apply to Clean Water Act citizen suits. Between 1987 and 1991, Laidlaw violated the mercury limitation contained in its NPDES permit 363 times. Laidlaw was fined only $10,000 dueto the $9 million they had already spent cleaning up the site. Civ.A. | Library of Congress. Soc'y, 343 U.S. 326, 333 (1952). If an NPDES permit holder fails to comply with the specified permit conditions, the federal and state governments may take enforcement action. The Court has since indicated in Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment, 523 U.S. 83 (1998), that a private citizen would lack constitutional standing to bring a suit solely to assess civil penalties for past infractions. In 1997, The company has also been subjectto several. 9a n.5. See Laidlaw II, 956 F. Supp. See Atlantic States Legal Found., Inc. v. Pan Am. Under this Court's normal practice, the case should be remanded for resolution of the remaining issues that the court of appeals did not reach. Laidlaw Environmental Services Careers and Employment Specifically, the court stated that "a defendant in substantial compliance with its NPDES permit is not required to show that there is no chance of a future permit violation in order to defeat a request for injunctive relief." See Tull, 481 U.S. at 422 n.8. 1998); see also Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. Texaco Refining & Marketing, Inc., 2 F.3d 493, 503 n.9 (3d Cir. On April 10, 1992, petitioners notified Laidlaw of their intention to bring a citizen suit under Section 505 of the CWA. Respectfully submitted. 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. BBB Rating: A+. See Laidlaw II, 956 F. Supp. 122; pp. Defendant-respondent Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., bought a facility in Roebuck, South Carolina, that included a wastewater treatment plant. In 1969 DeGroote began to expand beyond trucking by acquiring a solid waste management company. Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. City of Mesquite, 455 U.S. at 289. Create a free account to access additional details for Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. and other profiles that you visit. The court declined to order injunctive relief because Laidlaw, after the lawsuit began, had achieved substantial compliance with the terms of its permit. WebIn Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc.}0 envi-ronmental groups brought action against Laidlaw, a NPDES permit holder, pursuant to the citizen suit provision17 of the Clean Water Act.18 The plaintiff organizations alleged that Laidlaw had failed to comply with its 181-182). 11046(a)(1), that a citizen plaintiff would lack constitutional standing to bring a citizen suit solely to assess civil penalties (payable to the government) for wholly past violations. Id. Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167 (2000), exposes fundamental incoherencies within environmental standing doctrine, even while it ostensibly makes standing easier to prove for In the 1990s, Laidlaw continued to acquire hundreds of smaller school bus and public transit contractors in the U.S. and Canada. The defendant must show that "subsequent events made it absolutely clear that the allegedly wrongful behavior could not reasonably be expected to recur." See Hewitt, 482 U.S. at 761 ("In all civil litigation, the judicial decree is not the end but the means."). Accord Concentrated Phosphate Export Ass'n, 393 U.S. at 203-204 (a defendant is entitled to show "that the likelihood of further violations is sufficiently remote to make injunctive relief unnecessary") (citing W.T. 8a-9a. In the Supreme Court of the United States FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, INC., ET AL., PETITIONERS v. LAIDLAW ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (TOC), INC. ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT BRIEF FOR THE UNITED STATES AS AMICUS CURIAE SUPPORTING PETITIONERS SETH P. WAXMAN Solicitor General Counsel of Record LOIS J. SCHIFFER Assistant Attorney General LAWRENCE G. WALLACE Deputy Solicitor General JEFFREY P. MINEAR Assistant to the Solicitor General DAVID C. SHILTON R. JUSTIN SMITH Attorneys Department of Justice Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 (202) 514-2217 QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. April 12, 1999. The Court applies the doctrine of standing as a threshold jurisdiction requirement that a plaintiff must normally satisfy to invoke the federal judicial power. 4a. 1342(b) and (c); 40 C.F.R. 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. Laidlaw Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw Environmental Services - Amicus The citizen plaintiffs in Steel Co. brought a citizen suit against an industrial facility that had violated EPCRA's requirements but came into compliance before the citizens filed their complaint. Since the environmental services arm went bankrupt, needless to say those of us that worked there were shocked and dismayed. 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 Court reasoned that Section 505(a)(1), which authorizes a citizen to sue persons "alleged to be in violation" of permit requirements (33 U.S.C. at 600-601 (J.A. View all trademarks for Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. Laidlaw Environmental Services (Bdt), Inc. The citizen may obtain enforcement through an injunction that compels compliance. In 1991, after losing its major school bus contract in Norfolk, Virginia to a governmental conversion to district-self-operation, Laidlaw sold the rest of its urban-suburban bus line, school bus contracting business serving independent schools and day camps, and related assets in the Norfolk area to Virginia Overland Transportation. 123.1 et seq. Alleged in two lawsuits, one by city officials and another by two environmentalgroups, to have discharged illegal levels of heavy metals into the citysewer system. Grant Co., 345 U.S. at 633 (the defendant bears the "heavy" burden of demonstrating that "there is no reasonable expectation that the wrong will be repeated"). "The companiestended to fail the tests of independence or accountability. See, e.g., Steel Co., 523 U.S. at 102-104; Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 559-560 (1992). Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., 890 F. Supp. WebECOS provides all of its customers with a one year guarantee on its water damage and fire damage repairs. The Court explained: A lawsuit sometimes produces voluntary action by the defendant that affords the plaintiff all or some of the relief he sought through a judgment-e.g., a monetary settlement or a change in conduct that redresses the plaintiff's grievances. Read More Syllabus 141-143); Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Web4 FRIENDS OF EARTH, INC. v. LAIDLAW ENVI-RONMENTAL SERVICES (TOC), INC. Opinion of the Court any good-faith efforts to comply with the applicable re-quirements, the economic impact of the penalty on the violator, and such other matters as justice may require. 1319(d). Congress and state legislatures have empowered those governmental entities to call upon a variety of mechanisms-including administrative penalties, judicial injunctions and civil penalties, and criminal sanctions-to compel a facility to comply with its permit and to punish permit violations. On-Call Environmental Services for Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. See CWA 505(a), 33 U.S.C. The deal combined North America's two largest private school bus operatorsEducation Services and First Student Inc.giving them a combined 40% of the school bus contractor market.[4]. E.g., County of Los Angeles, 440 U.S. at 631. at 7a.3 The court of appeals noted that the district court had denied injunctive relief and, instead, assessed civil penalties, which are payable to the United States Treasury. App. 28-30, infra. The court observed that the Constitution's "Case[]" or "Controvers[y]" requirement, U.S. Const. May 22, 2018. 1993). at 611 (J.A. Inc DREC acceded to Laidlaw's request to file a lawsuit against the company. Art. See 890 F. Supp. In 1978, Laidlaw entered the United States solid waste industry, Laidlaw Waste Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Laidlaw Inc, In 1986 Laidlaw acquired Genstar Corp (GSX) of Boston and in 1996 then sold its solid waste business to Allied Waste Industries and many former Laidlaw operations where then rebranded to local names depending on the locations. The court's ruling rests on a mistaken understanding of the Clean Water Act's citizen-enforcement provisions, CWA 505, 33 U.S.C. Pet. If this case were truly like Steel Co., and petitioners had brought suit simply to seek imposition of civil penalties for past violations, then they would lack standing, because punishing pre-complaint conduct, discontinued before the suit began, would not redress any cognizable injury to petitioners that could provide the basis for the suit. Laidlaw II, 956 F. Supp. Laidlaw installed additional pollution control technology in 1991, but nevertheless violated the mercury limitation more than 100 times in 1992. WebTES has successfully provided environmental, safety, and industrial hygiene solutions to our clients since 1984. The court concluded that "the fact that Laidlaw is now and has for an extended time been in compliance with its permit" supported its decision that "no injunction or other form of equitable relief is appropriate." In 1998, a watershed year, Laidlaw Inc. acquired Greyhound Lines U.S. operations, Greyhound Canada, the DAVE Companies (specialists in paratransit) and emergency management companies EmCare and Spectrum Emergency Care. The plaintiff must allege sufficient facts in the complaint to demonstrate standing. Indeed, the lower courts, which have practical experience with the effectiveness of particular remedies, have concluded that civil penalties are an effective deterrent for Clean Water Act violations. May 21, 2018. In October 1991, Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. (LES LOKERN), noticed its intention to seek a conditional use permit and general plan amendment from Kern County to expand and modify its existing hazardous waste facility near the unincorporated town of Buttonwillow. This Court has repeatedly and emphatically rejected the notion that "voluntary cessation" of the challenged conduct automatically deprives a court of the power to order relief. 1251 et seq. 482 U.S. at 760. On the last day before FOE's 60-day notice period expired, DREC and Laidlaw reached a settlement requiring Laidlaw to pay $100,000 in civil penalties and to make "every effort" to comply with its permit obligations. Section 309(d) makes express reference to setting penalties in light of the "the economic benefit (if any) resulting from the violation." See CWA 309, 33 U.S.C. Cadence developed the use of Chem-Fuel using industrial wastes to replace the use of non-renewable resources as fuels for use in cement kilns. App. In May 1995, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Laidlaw II, 956 F. Supp. Environmental WebIn October 1991, Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. (LES LOKERN), noticed its intention to seek a conditional use permit and general plan amendment from Kern County to expand 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. P. 180. (quoting Concentrated Phosphate Export Ass'n, 393 U.S. at 203). The civil penalty remedy is also a useful alternative to an injunction because, if the court concludes that an assessment of civil penalties will effectively deter future violations, then the court will not need to engage in the potentially cumbersome role of supervising the defendant's future compliance through an ongoing injunction. Weve been identifying carbon-rich wastes to use in our Chem-Fuel program since 1975. at 610-611 (J.A. Environmental Services Garbage, on the other hand, always had to be dealt with. (J.A. Heard October 7, 1999. 1365(c)(3). Lujan v. De-, Friends of Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167 (2000). Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. - Columbia, SC Laidlaw I, 890 F. Supp. Words: Standing, Environment, and Other Contested Terms WebLaidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. May 1985 - May 19916 years 1 month Charleston, SC Education University of North Carolina at Greensboro Master of Science (M.S. Laidlaw Environmental Services Inc. increased the cash portion of its hostile offer for the Safety-Kleen Corporation to $18 a share, but the overall value of the offer remains $30 a share. No. That relief "can include, but is not limited to, an order of immediate cessation." Co., 385 U.S. 533, 535 (1967) (directing that "the District Court should determine in the first instance the effect of an intervening event upon the appropriateness of injunctive relief"); Stern, supra, at 257. at 477 (J.A. A party trying to show that the mootness doctrine applies because it will voluntarily cease an activity must show that the activity would not recur. See Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona, 520 U.S. 43, 66-67 (1997) (courts may assume that standing exists to resolve whether a case has nevertheless become moot). WebAccording to the EPA's California Toxics Release Inventory Fact Sheet from June 2004, Clean Harbors Buttonwillow (formally Laidlaw Environmental Services Inc. and Safety-Kleen Corporation) is listed as the second top facility for total on- and off-site releases of all chemicals in California, contributing 2.6 million pounds. . 1993) (collecting cases and secondary sources). in Opp. Laidlaw Environmental Services App. 1365(c)(2). Id. And if those allegations are disputed, the plaintiff must be prepared to come forward with sufficient evidence to withstand a motion for summary judgment and to prove those facts at trial. To contact LAIDLAW WASTE SYSTEMS INC, call (903) 984-8621, or view more information below. Cadence Environmental Energy SETH P. WAXMAN Solicitor General LOIS J. SCHIFFER Assistant Attorney General LAWRENCE G. WALLACE Deputy Solicitor General JEFFREY P. MINEAR Assistant to the Solicitor General DAVID C. SHILTON R. JUSTIN SMITH Attorneys MAY 1999 1 A "citizen" means "a person or persons having an interest which is or may be adversely affected."
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