Environmental -- 2014



Grain Processing Corp. v. Freeman   (U.S. Supreme Court)

Whether public nuisance claim is preempted by EPA regulation of factory emissions

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a group of Iowa residents could sue a local corn milling plant for trespass, nuisance and negligence from pollutants and odors emanating from the plant, in spite of the fact that the emissions are regulated by the EPA and the company is in full compliance with its permits. That decision was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. This case represents a serious emerging problem for manufacturers. The appeal in a similar case was declined by the Court earlier this year.

Our brief, joined by 6 other national associations, urged the Supreme Court to hear this appeal. We argued that this case presents an ideal opportunity to resolve whether public nuisance claims under state law are preempted by the Clean Air Act. There are serious conflicts between the federal courts of appeals and within state courts concerning this preemption issue. The issue is important because public nuisance litigation threatens one of the Clean Air Act's most important methods of pollution control -- permitting. Permits specify clear standards that guarantee certainty, predictability, and evenhandedness to the regulated community, and allowing public nuisance litigation threatens to substitute ad hoc decisions for considered regulatory policy, a result completely at odds with the goals and purposes of the Clean Air Act.

On December 1, 2014, the Court declined to review this appeal.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (October 14, 2014)