Violet v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

Summary

The court granted the EPA's motion to dismiss as moot a challenge by Rhode Island to the proposed on-site disposal of PCB-contaminated soil at the Picillo hazardous waste site. The court held that the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 specifically required the remedial action to conform to the state's standard, thereby eliminating the controversy concerning the challenged remedial plan. The court alternatively concluded that any remaining issues were not ripe because the EPA had not yet adopted a new remedial plan.

Holdings

1. The 1986 Superfund Amendments rendered the controversy moot because they supplanted the statutory basis for the original Record of Decision and required the remedial action at the Picillo site to conform to Rhode Island's applicable standard, thereby granting the relief sought by the State.
2. The court could not adjudicate the State's asserted remaining issues because they were not ripe; the Superfund Amendments invalidated the basis for the original Record of Decision as to the PCB-contaminated soil, and the EPA had not yet taken new administrative action that could be challenged.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 rendered moot the State's challenge to the EPA's original remedial plan for disposal of PCB-contaminated soil at the Picillo site.
2. Whether any issues allegedly remaining concerning the precise remedy, funding, cost allocation, or consistency with the National Contingency Plan were ripe for judicial review before the EPA adopted a new remedial plan.

Disposition

dismissed