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Clean Air Counsel for North Carolina
Hunsucker Goodstein & Nelson PC, with the North Carolina Attorney General's Office, represented the State of North Carolina in its successful suit against the Tennessee Valley Authority for operating coal-fired power plants with excessive air pollution that substantially impacts public health and natural resources in North Carolina. The settlement requires TVA to retire at least 18 of its 59 coal units including its oldest and most polluting, install and continuously operate up-to-date emission-control equipment on most of the remaining units, and pay North Carolina $11.2 million in mitigation for energy efficiency and electricity-demand-reduction programs.
The New York Times: A Victory for Cleaner Air, and the Law
Associated Press: TVA paring coal operations, paying $10M in deal
Press Release: TVA Coal Plant Air Pollution Settlement Has National Impact
$4.3 Million Cleanup Settlement for Contaminated Scrap Yards
A federal Judge approved a $4.3 million settlement agreement, ending three years of environmental litigation over cleanup costs for two Evansville sites contaminated with lead and PCBs. Hunsucker Goodstein & Nelson represented The Evansville Greenway & Remediation Trust in its lawsuit against Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company (SIGECO) and other responsible parties under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Indiana’s Environmental Legal Action statute (ELA), seeking cleanup costs for polluted scrap yards. In 2011, the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) named a newly opened section of the Greenway as the winner of its National Environmental Excellence Award in the category of environmental stewardship. The settlement was made possible after the Court found SIGECO liable, but left for trial how cleanup costs would be apportioned among all responsible parties under the Supreme Court’s US v. Burlington Northern decision. The settlement makes possible the clean-up and transformation of property as part of a planned 42-mile public greenway trail around Evansville.
Read the Order » See Photos » More »
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Neighborhood Pollution RCRA Citizen Suit and Class Action Results In Settlement For Investigation, Cleanup and Damages
Barrie Park, a suburban park in the Chicago area, was the site of a former manufactured gas plant, a source of toxic coal tar wastes. In the 1950s, the local utility companies transferred ownership of this site to the local government, which subsequently opened it as a park. In 1988 the utilities listed Barrie Park as a contaminated site, but never notified the Village, the Parks Department or the residents. In 2000 the utilities conducted an incomplete investigation and clean-up of the park, however, this investigation and clean-up did not fully address the spread of toxins into the neighborhood. Hunsucker Goodstein & Nelson PC represented the residents in a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) enforcement action which resulted in a settlement for proper investigation and cleanup of the neighborhood to assure adequate protection of public health. We also represented the residents in a class action suit resulting in a settlement for damages.
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Jury Verdict and Settlements On Hydrogen Sulfide Pollution
Hunsucker Goodstein & Nelson PC represented families in a series of cases in Nebraska against IBP, Inc., one of the largest beef-processing operations in the country. The cases addressed hydrogen sulfide emissions from a slaughterhouse and tannery complex into the surrounding communities. Hydrogen sulfide, a colorless gas with a characteristic rotten-egg odor, can be lethal in high doses and has acute and chronic adverse health effects at lower levels. We successfully obtained a plaintiff’s verdict after jury trial in the first case, establishing the public nuisance caused by the excessive emissions. This result led to settlements in the remaining cases. These cases led to a new State air pollution standard that controls hydrogen sulfide emissions into neighborhoods.
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Additional Pollution Controls For Older Coal-Fired Power Plants
Hunsucker Goodstein & Nelson PC represented the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Adirondack Mountain Club before the U.S. Supreme Court as amicus parties in Environmental Defense et al. v. Duke Energy. This is a landmark case under the New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air Act, where environmental groups achieved a unanimous decision affirming that utilities must install modern controls on older power plants when the plants are refurbished. The amicus brief provided the Court with important background on the impact of the case on the environmental quality of the Chesapeake Bay and Adirondack Mountain areas.
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Property Contaminated By Adjacent Oil-Handling Facility Becomes Brownfields Project
Hunsucker Goodstein & Nelson PC represented a mortgage holder in New York City seeking to redevelop industrial property. In a citizen suit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Superfund and State nuisance laws, we sought a cleanup and reimbursement of response costs for soil and groundwater contamination caused by a waste-oil handling facility. In addition to the owners and operators of the oil-handling facility, we identified and pursued numerous generators of the waste oil disposed of at the site. The resolution of this matter has allowed the properties to enter the brownfields program and be cleaned up for reuse, and included the reimbursement of response costs.
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Regulatory Analysis For the District of Columbia
Hunsucker Goodstein & Nelson PC attorneys provide analysis to the District of Columbia on regulatory issues in the air quality and hazardous substance control areas.
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Brownfields Redevelopment For City of Anderson
Hunsucker Goodstein & Nelson PC represents the City of Anderson, Indiana regarding property owned by the City which requires remediation for brownfields redevelopment. We also advise the City on environmental matters related to its management of a former landfill site.
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