Whitehouse v. Davis

Summary

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island held that the state's Oil Spill Prevention, Administration and Response Fund could be used to remove a large tire pile that posed a substantial risk of an oil or petroleum-product discharge if ignited. The court deferred to the Department of Environmental Management's reasonable interpretation of the governing statute and affirmed the Superior Court's judgment.

Holdings

1. The appeal was justiciable under the capable-of-repetition-yet-evading-review exception because the use of the fund for other tire fields presented an issue of extreme public importance that could recur while evading review.
2. The fund could be used to dismantle the Davis tire pile because preventing a foreseeable fire and resulting discharge of oil and petroleum by-products constituted prevention of an oil spill or threatened oil spill within the statute's purposes.
3. DEM's interpretation of the act was entitled to deference and was reasonable, not clearly erroneous or unauthorized.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the appeal remained justiciable after the tire pile had been fully remediated.
2. Whether the Oil Spill Prevention, Administration and Response Fund could be used to remove the tire pile when no oil had yet been released from the site.
3. Whether the Department of Environmental Management's interpretation of the governing statute was entitled to deference.

Disposition

affirmed