(quoting Concentrated Phosphate Export Ass'n, 393 U.S. at 203). 1993); see also Comfort Lake Ass'n v. Dresel Contracting, Inc., 138 F.3d 351, 356 (8th Cir. Court of Appeals of South Carolina. at 109. Indeed, under those principles, Laidlaw was required to "demonstrate that it is 'absolutely clear that the allegedly wrongful behavior could not reasonably be expected to recur.'" Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 417 (1975) ("If [violators] faced only the prospect of an injunctive order, they would have little incentive to shun practices of dubious legality."). Nevertheless, the district court found that, within two months after petitioners filed their complaint, Laidlaw was in "substantial compliance." Legal WebLaidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., 890 F. Supp. (TOC), Inc., 956 F.Supp. The court reasoned that "this action is moot because the only remedy currently available to [petitioners]-civil penalties payable to the government- would not redress any injury [petitioners] have suffered." The company`s registered agent is FL. Grant Co., 345 U.S. at 633, 635-636 ("although the actions were not moot, no abuse of discretion has been demonstrated in the trial court's refusal to award injunctive relief"); see generally City of Mesquite, 455 U.S. at 289. 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." at 613-621 (J.A. 33 U.S.C. City of Mesquite, 455 U.S. at 289. LAIDLAW ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES INC A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. The court of appeals specifically "focus[ed] on the continued existence of the third element, redressability." The facility included a wastewater treatment plant that removed pollutants from See CWA 505(d), 33 U.S.C. United States District Court, D. Massachusetts. 1365(a)(1).1 Section 505(b) generally bars a citizen from suing until 60 days after the citizen gives notice of the alleged violation to EPA, the relevant State, and the alleged violator, 33 U.S.C. III, 2, underpins both standing and mootness doctrine, but the two inquiries differ in crucial respects. Gwaltney, 484 U.S. at 59. Id. ACE | Water & Wastewater Treatment Facilities | Columbia MD 182), but it refused to issue an "injunction or other form of equitable relief" in light of "the fact that Laidlaw is now and has for an extended period of time been in compliance with its permit," ibid. On April 10, 1992, petitioners notified Laidlaw of their intention to bring a citizen suit under Section 505 of the CWA. 141-143); Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. It would deny that flexibility and exalt form over substance to require the district court to add a pro forma injunction order in order to avoid mootness. On June 12, 1992, FOE filed this citizen suit against Laidlaw, alleging noncompliance with the NPDES permit and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of civil penalties. 1342(b) and (c); 40 C.F.R. Decided: November 22, 1999 DREC acceded to Laidlaw's request to file a lawsuit against the company. Shortly thereafter, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), acting under the Clean Water Act (Act), 33 U. S. C. 1342(a)(I), granted Laidlaw a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. See, e.g., Vitek, 436 U.S. at 410 (remanding case to the district court for consideration of the question of mootness); McLeod v. General Elec. App. WebHistorically Laidlaw Waste and Laidlaw Environmental Services have been subsidiaries of Laidlaw, Inc., which in turn is a 47.5% owned subsidiary of Canadian Pacific. at 760-761. 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. Among other things, the Act prohibits a facility from discharging pollutants into navigable waters unless the facility obtains a NPDES permit, which, among other things, establishes limits on the amounts of certain pollutants that may be discharged. City of Mesquite, 455 U.S. at 289 n.10. All Trademarks and Copyrights are owned by their respective companies and/or entities. 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. WebFind out what works well at Laidlaw Environmental Services from the people who know best. The latter converted in 1996, and Virginia Overland's parent company based in Richmond closed in 2004. The permit authorized Laidlaw to discharge treated water into the North Tyger River, but limited, among other things, the discharge of pollutants into the waterway. But as this Court explained in Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U.S. 305 (1982), the Clean Water Act does not employ injunctions as "the only means of ensuring compliance." Environmental The state court approved the settlement on June 10, 1992, the day after the expiration of Section 505(b)'s 60-day notice period, 33 U.S.C. 1319(b), and the imposition of criminal, civil, and administrative penalties, 33 U.S.C. The permit Many Get free summaries of new US Supreme Court opinions delivered to your inbox! WebLaidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167 (2000). See also Carr v. Alta Verde Indus., Inc., 931 F.2d 1055, 1065 n.9 (5th Cir. 106-136). Weblaidlaw environmental services, inc. 1301 grevais street, suite 300 columbia, sc 29201 Under this Court's normal practice, the case will be remanded for resolution of the remaining issues that the court of appeals did not reach, including the question of petitioners' standing. It directs that the court may impose a maximum penalty of $25,000 per day of violation and that, when assessing the penalty, the court shall consider "the seriousness of the violation or violations, the economic benefit (if any) resulting from the violation, any history of such violations, any good-faith efforts to comply with the applicable requirements, the economic impact of the penalty on the violator, and such other matters as justice may require." In February 2007, FirstGroup, a bus and rail transportation operator in the United Kingdom with subsidiaries in North America, acquired Laidlaw International, Inc.[1][2][3] FirstGroup completed the acquisition of Laidlaw International on October 1, 2007, and rebranded Laidlaw services under the First umbrella. As this Court indicated in Romero-Barcelo, the court was entitled to employ civil penalties, rather than an injunction, to deter future violations and ensure continued compliance. Soc'y, 343 U.S. 326, 333 (1952). Historical business data for Laidlaw International Inc.: Historical business data for Laidlaw Global Corp.: This page was last edited on 19 April 2023, at 16:25. EPA's policy expressly stated that a core objective of civil penalties is to deprive the defendant of the economic benefit of the violation in order to provide effective deterrence. FOE appealed as to the amount of the District Court's civil penalty judgment, but did not appeal the denial of declaratory or injunctive relief. The district court evaluated the Clean Water Act's criteria for imposing civil penalties (CWA 309(d), 33 U.S.C. WebAbout us. 1365(d). On Sunday, Safety-Kleen's board approved a revised merger offer after Laidlaw increased the cash component to $18.30 a share from $18. References1 "Pricing Surfaces on LaidlawFund Tranches," Institutional Investor, Bank Letter, March 10, 1997.2 "Allied Waste Announces Completionof Shareholder Transactions Closes Senior Discount Note Offering," PR Newswire,May 15, 1997, "Drexel to Pay $650 million in Guity Plea," Chicago Tribune,December 22, 1988.3 "Class Action Suits Lure Shareholders:But Laidlaw case shows it's not easy money," Eric Reguly, Financial Post,September 30, 1993.4 "Cragnotti pays $ 2.67 million,"Tony van Alphen, Toronto Star, April 29, 1993.5 "Fatjo and Hall Return to WasteManagement Business with ENVIRx," Integrated Waste Management, July 22,1992.6 "Odd Union Intrigues Wall St.;Waste Manager Joins with Insurer," Terrence L. Johnson; and Stephen Phillips,The Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 26, 1996.7 "Attwoods PLC - BFI Offer Extended,etc," Extel Financial Limited, Regulatory News Service, November 4, 1994,"Laidlaw expands hazardous waste business with purchase of Union Pacific[sic]" The Ottawa Citizen, December 7, 1994.8 "Waste Plant Fined $10,000 AfterLime Leak," Rob Moritz; The Nashville Banner, October 31, 1995.9 "Law Laid Down for Laidlaw,"Louisiana Industry Environmental Advisor April, 1994.10 "Laidlaw Hammered by DEQ,"Louisiana Environmental Compliance Update, March, 1994.11 "EPA Targets Waste-BurningViolators For Penalties," Reuters, November 15, 1994; "EPA Cites MonsantoFor Hazardous Waste Violation; Seeks $555,900 Fine," PR Newswire, November16, 1994.12 "Laidlaw: No Collusion," APOnline, December 13, 1994.13 "EPA Fines Two South CarolinaIncinerators," South Carolina Environmental Compliance Update, March, 1994.14 "EPA Announces Hazardous WasteCombustion Enforcement Iniative," Arnall Golden & Gregory; GeorgiaEnvironmental Law Letter, October, 1993.15 "Sewer District Annexes Laidlaw,"Shelly Haskins; Spartanburg Herald-Journal, July 11, 1996.16 "SCDHEC Issues Twenty-ThreeConsent Orders," Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, L.L.P. 1365(b)(1)(A). Pet. It was the parent company of Laidlaw Transit (which was merged into First Transit), Laidlaw Education Services (merged into First Student), Greyhound Lines and Greyhound Lines of Canada, and a number of Gray Line Sightseeing franchises in major North American cities. 482 U.S. at 760. The question, for purposes of Article III's case-or-controversy requirement, is whether petitioners' claim for relief presented a live controversy under the principles that this Court has established for determining mootness. Became legally responsible for toxic emissions emanating from more than800 barrels and PCB-contaminated electrical equipment illegally buriedby the previous company, in Mercier. 7a n.3. Laidlaw sold the Canadian operations to USA Waste Services, Inc. Laidlaw American branch's where re-branded to many different names, depending on the location of were they were. Laidlaw Environmental Services has laid off 23 employees at its Reidsville office and its Columbia, S.C., headquarters in its third round of layoffs in eight months. free to return to his old ways.'" See, e.g., Murphy v. Hunt, 455 U.S. 478, 482 (1982) (evaluating whether challenged conduct is "capable of repetition, yet evading review"); Geraghty, 445 U.S. at 400 (noting, in the class action context, the "flexible character of the Article III mootness doctrine"); see also Honig v. Doe, 484 U.S. 305, 331 (1988) (Rehnquist, C.J., concurring). A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The Respondent was acquired by Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. on December 23, 1992. 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. (TOC), Inc., 956 F. Supp. Meanwhile you can send your letters to POST OFFICE BOX 11393, COLUMBIA, SC, 29211. See Romero-Barcelo, 456 U.S. at 314.6 The court of appeals concluded that the district court's award of civil penalties, without an injunction, dictated that the case was moot, because civil penalties -which are payable to the Treasury-"would not redress any injury [petitioners] have suffered." WebWe put it to work as energy to make cement. Environmental Services See CWA 402(a)(1), 33 U.S.C. 149). 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. The court declined to issue an injunction but assessed civil penalties and indicated that it would award petitioners their costs of litigation in accordance with Section 505(d) of the Act. Penalized $30,000 for unauthorized emissions from their incinerator's stacks. Web394 Virginia Environmental Law Journal [Vol. Pet. The district court did deny petitioners' request for injunctive relief, which would have gone beyond a simple prohibitory injunction and imposed special reporting obligations. Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), 1993). In 1996, Laidlaw sold its solid waste business to Allied Waste Industries. 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. SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT The court of appeals erred in ruling that a Clean Water Act citizen suit, brought to compel a regulated entity to comply with its NPDES permit, must be dismissed as moot if the district court concludes that injunctive relief is unwarranted. Virginia Overland Transportation was an operator of public service transportation and a much smaller industry consolidator in the state. Formore on strategy and organizing see our Strategy Guide. 1319, 1342(b)(7). See Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona, 520 U. S. 43, 66-67. 5 (1976)). The court of appeals accordingly erred in inferring from the district court's decision to limit petitioners' relief to civil penalties that petitioners' suit was moot. In 2019, ECOS is celebrating its 15th year anniversary due to our highly regarded customer service. Pet. 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. Pet. 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. United States Bancorp Mortgage Co. v. Bonner Mall Partnership, 513 U.S. 18, 24-25 (1994) ("The judgment is not unreviewable, but simply unreviewed by [the losing party's] own choice."). Organizing Tip-For all intents and purposes, Laidlaw's trackrecord is still relevant since the same management will be probably beoperating the facilities. The court of appeals did not reach any of those issues and instead concluded, after supplemental briefing, that the case was non-justiciable as a constitutional matter because the action had become moot. Allied Waste SystemsAllied's Chief Executive Officer, Roger Ramsey, was the Vice Presidentand Chief Financial Officer for BFI from 1968 to 1976. NAVFAC Marianas Awards $1.9 Million to Guam-Based Small The district court's statements respecting the appropriateness of equitable relief do not provide what a determination of mootness would require: a definitive finding that it is absolutely clear there is no reasonable prospect that Laidlaw would repeat its violations. This Court has held that to satisfy Article Ill's standing requirements, a plaintiff must show "injury in fact," causation, and redressability. The amendment, which prohibits a court from awarding fees to a losing party, does not appear to restrict the court's power to award fees to a citizen who can show that the suit prompted the defendant to come into compliance. 4, In the meanwhile, Degroote busied himself building a new waste empire.In 1991, DeGroote took over Republic Waste from Browning Ferris Industriesfounder Tom Fatjo.5In 1995 DeGroote gave up control of Republic to Waste Management Inc. founderWayne Huizenga. The site had problemsbefore Laidlaw purchased GSX, but Ohio EPA Director Richard Shank latercalled Laidlaw's operation, "horrendous and shoddyI never would havedreamed that (Laidlaw) would have gotten themselves into this kind of troublethisis not some corner drug store, this is a hazardous waste facility. at 477, 478-479 (J.A. WebTES has successfully provided environmental, safety, and industrial hygiene solutions to our clients since 1984. Laidlaw II, 956 F. Supp. 98-822. WebLaidlaw (/ l e d l /), organized as Laidlaw International, Inc. (with corporate headquarters in Naperville, Illinois) was the largest provider of intercity bus services, contract public WebLaidlaw International Inc is a gargantuan publicly traded company based in Canada. Whether a citizen plaintiff is barred from recovering litigation costs under Section 505(d) of the Clean Water Act if the citizen suit is dismissed as moot. 1998); Atlantic States Legal Found., Inc. v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 897 F.2d 1128, 1137 (11th Cir. 183). Heard October 7, 1999. In May 1995, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Laidlaw Environmental Services is a renewables & environment company based out of 4101 Washington Ave, Newport News, Virginia, United States. 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. Section 402 of the Act establishes the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), which authorizes the federal government and qualifying States to issue permits for controlling the point-source discharge of pollutants. Ibid. at 477 (J.A. 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. App. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Environmental Contractor, 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.
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