course material

1. Does the plant constitute a nuisance? Should it be shut
Q U E S T I O N S1. Atlantic Cement operated a large cement plant. Neighboring landowners
sued for damages and an injunction, claiming that their properties were injured by the dirt,
smoke, and vibrations coming from the plant. The lower court found that the plant
constituted a nuisance and granted temporary damages but refused to grant an injunction
because the benefits of operating the plant outweighed the harm to the plaintiffs’
properties. The landowners appealed. Does the plant constitute a nuisance? Should it be
shut down? Explain.2. Seindenberg and Hutchinson (the site owners) leased a four-acre
tract of land (the Bluff Road site) to a chemical manufacturing corporation (COCC). While
the lease initially was for the sole purpose of allowing COCC to store raw materials and
finished products in a warehouse on the land, COCC later expanded its business to include
the brokering and recycling of chemical waste generated by third parties. COCC’s owners
subsequently formed a new corporation, South Carolina Recycling and Disposal, Inc.
(SCRDI), for the purpose of taking over COCC’s waste-handling business. The site owners
accepted rent from SCRDI. The waste stored at Bluff Road contained many chemical
substances that Federal law defines as hazardous. Subsequently, the Environmental
Protection Agency concluded that the site was a major fire hazard. The Federal government
contracted with a third party to perform a partial cleanup of the site. South Carolina
completed the cleanup. The Federal government and South Carolina sued SCRDI, COCC, the
site owners, and three third-party generators as responsible parties under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act. Explain whether the United States and South Carolina will
prevail.3. The State of Y submits a plan under the Clean Air Act to attain national ambient air
quality standards. Can the Environmental Protection Agency administrator deny approval
of the State plan because it is (a) less stringent or (b) more stringent than the agency
believes is feasible? Explain.4. Kennecott Copper Corp. brings a challenge to an
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) order that rejected a portion of the State of
Nevada’s implementation plan dealing with the control of stationary sources of sulfur
dioxide (SO 2). All of the SO 2 emissions come from a single source—the Kennecott copper
smelter at McGill. The EPA bases its decision on the belief that the Clean Air Act National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) must be met by continuous emission limitations to
the maximum extent possible and that the Act permits the intermittent use of emission
controls only when continuous controls are not economically feasible. Kennecott contends
that the EPA must approve any State implementation plan that will attain and maintain an

2. NAAQS within the statutory time period. Who will prevail? Why?5. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) administrator issued an order suspending the registration of the
pesticides heptachlor and chlordane under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Velsicol Chemical Corp., the sole manufacturer of these pesticides,
brings an action contending that the evidence does not support the administrator’s
contention that the continued use of these chemicals poses an imminent hazard to human
health. Velsicol and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) contend (a) that the EPA’s
laboratory tests on mice and rats do not “conclusively” show that either chemical is
carcinogenic, (b) that mice are too prone to tumors to be reliable test subjects, and (c) that
human exposure to these chemicals is insufficient to create a risk. Nonetheless, human
epidemiology studies on both chemicals provide no basis for concluding that either
pesticide is safe. The administrator based part of his claim on residues of these chemicals
found in soil, air, and the aquatic ecosystem over long periods of time and on the presence
of these chemicals in the human diet and human tissue. Does FIFRA apply in this situation?
Explain