Statutes on Waste
See the following section to read student briefs on cases that interpret statutes on waste.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
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42 USCS §6901 is the public law that governs the recovery and disposal of solid waste in the United States. The RCRC finds that as a result of technological advancement, economic growth, and population growth has resulted in the increase of mass and the change of characteristics of solid waste. As urban area population growth increases, they are faced with serious, financial, management, intergovernmental, and technical problems in the disposal of waste. While solid waste collection and disposal should remain the primary function of State and local agencies, the issue of solid waste management has reached national scope. Federal action should take place to improve methods to reduce the mass of solid waste and unsalvageable materials that get discarded and to provide proper and economical solid waste disposal practices.
Congress finds that most solid waste is disposed of on land in open dumps and sanitary landfills, even though land is a valuable natural resource and that disposal of solid waste hazardous waste can present a danger to human health and the environment if not managed properly. As a result of the Clean Air Act, the Water Pollution Control Act, and other federal and State laws have resulted in the creation of solid waste. Similarly, inadequate practices of the use and disposal of solid waste have created adverse effects on water, air, and other parts of the environment and public health. Open dumping poses a particular threat to health since it pollutes drinking water from underground and surface supplies and pollutes the land and air. Inadequate hazardous waste disposal poses a significant threat to health and the environment. Once improper action is taken, corrective action is expensive and time-consuming. Reliance on land disposal should be minimized or eliminated because certain classes of land disposal facilities are not capable of assuring long-term containment of certain hazardous wastes. Alternative methods of land disposal must be developed since most US cities will run out of land disposal sites in the next 5 years.
Cases that Interpret Statutes on Waste
Case that Interprets the RCRA
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Link to the case: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/connecticut/ctdce/3:2021cv00932/145182/122/
Link to the United States Code (2023 edition): https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2023-title42/USCODE-2023-title42-chap82
Please note that the following brief was prepared by a student.
Parties: The plaintiff is Conservation Law Foundation, Inc. and the defendant is Gulf Oil Limited Partnership.
Procedural History: Plaintiff Conservation Law Foundation, Inc. has brought this action against Defendant Gulf Oil Limited Partnership, alleging that Defendant is violating federal law by failing to prepare its bulk petroleum [*2] storage facility in New Haven, Connecticut for severe flooding and other weather-related risks that are increasing in severity due to climate change. The complaint consists of eighteen counts; counts sixteen to eighteen allege violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA"), 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.
Facts: Defendant owns and operates on a bulk petroleum storage terminal in New Haven, Connecticut. Plaintiff is a non-profit organization with more than 5,000 members. Some of these members live near and regularly visit, use, and enjoy the area and waters near the Terminal. Plaintiff's members are concerned about eliminating risks from the discharge and release of pollutants from the Terminal into nearby waters, communities, and ecosystems. Plaintiffs are concerned that climate change in New Haven increases vulnerability in flooding and storm surges that may lead to future risk of pollution of the defendant's terminal into waters. Defendant's operation of the Terminal is also regulated under RCRA because it generates hazardous waste. Several toxic and hazardous wastes and pollutants, including petroleum hydrocarbons, are present at the Terminal, and many of these substances are highly carcinogenic.
Issue: Should the court apply the Resource Conservation And Recovery Act to determine whether the defendant violated the plaintiff?
Holding: Yes
Reasoning: The court decided to dismiss allegations against the defendant because of the plaintiff’s lack of standing and failure to allege injury or give sufficient evidence of violation of the Resource Conservation And Recovery Act. More specifically, Plaintiff's complaint in this case is devoid of any allegations articulating how the impacts of climate change, including the threat of a foreseeable weather event, present a real and immediate risk of a discharge of pollutants by Defendant's Terminal into the waters Plaintiff's members enjoy.
Dissenting Opinion: None