Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources
Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts Committee - Newsletter Archive
Vol. 4, No. 2 - March 2002
Breaking News
Thomas P. Redick
On February 6, 2002, the California Supreme Court held that residents can sue their local water district for failing to provide drinking water that meets all applicable government standards. Twenty-five hundred San Gabriel Valley residents sued industrial defendants and water districts for contamination of their water supplies. Plaintiffs alleged injuries such as cancer or other diseases from solvents, rocket fuel and other hazardous substances. This case is reportedly the first to test the legal basis for holding utilities responsible for delivering clean water - observers think it may spawn similar litigation nationwide.
Justice Ming Chin's opinion stated: "A court has jurisdiction to enforce a water utility's legal obligation to comply with PUC standards and policies and to award damages for violations... the PUC's regulation of water quality and safety does not preempt damage claims alleging violations of federal and state drinking water standards against the providers subject to PUC regulation." While acknowledging that a 2000 PUC investigation had determined that the utilities, for the last 25 years, "had provided water that was in no way harmful or dangerous to health," the court held that utilities could be liable if their water violated existing government standards. (See http://www.courtinfo.
ca.gov/courts/supreme/ or http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2002/2002L-02-06-06.html for further information.)
On January 11, 2002, Congress passed the much-ballyhooed Brownfields bill - key points are summarized below in the article "Bullet Points for Bulletproof builders."
Mr. Redick is member of Gallop, Johnson and Neuman, L.C. in St. Louis (tpredick@gjn.com).
Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts Navigation
Use Limitations of This Periodical
Viewers of this periodical may print one copy of this issue for personal use only. Requests for all other uses of this periodical should be directed to the Manager, Copyrights & Licensing, American Bar Association, e-mail: copyright@abanet.org; fax: 312/988-6030.
© 2008. American Bar Association. All rights reserved. The views expressed herein have not been approved by the ABA House of Delegates or the Board of Governors and, accordingly should not be construed as representing the policy of the ABA.
This newsletter is a publication of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, and reports on the activities of the committee. All persons interested in joining the Section or one of its committees should contact the Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654.
