Steel Co. V Cbe Case

2243 Words9 Pages
STEEL CO. v. CITIZENS FOR A BETTER ENVIRONMENT Supreme Court of the United States, 523 U.S. 83 (1998) JUSTICE SCALIA: Respondent, an association of individuals interested in environmental protection, sued petitioner, a small manufacturing company in Chicago, for past violations of EPCRA. EPCRA establishes a framework of state, regional and local agencies designed to inform the public about the presence of hazardous and toxic chemicals, and to provide for emergency response in the event of health-threatening release. Central to its operation are reporting requirements compelling users of specified toxic and hazardous chemicals to file annual emergency and hazardous chemical inventory forms and toxic chemical release forms, which contain, [among other things], the name and location of the facility, the name and quantity of the chemical on hand, and, in the case of toxic chemicals, the waste-disposal method employed and the annual quantity released into each environmental medium. For purposes of this case, . . . the crucial enforcement mechanism is the citizen-suit provision, which authorizes civil penalties and injunctive relief. This provides that “any person may commence a civil action on his own behalf against [a]n owner or operator of a facility for failure, among other things, to [c]omplete and submit an inventory form under section 11022(a) of this title [and] section 11023(a) of this title. “ As a prerequisite to bringing such a suit, the plaintiff must, 60 days prior to filing his complaint, give notice to the Administrator of the EPA, the State in which the alleged violation occurs, and the alleged violator. The citizen suit may not go forward if the Administrator “has commenced and is diligently pursuing an administrative order or civil action to enforce the requirement concerned or to impose a civil penalty.” In 1995 respondent sent a notice to petitioner,

More about Steel Co. V Cbe Case

Open Document