Law Environmental Lawsuits
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List of environmental lawsuits that concern the well-being of an environmental asset, like water or air, or lawsuits with environmental relevance, in which a non-environmental entity was in a dispute that had relevance for a specific environmental asset. This list of environmental law cases spans several centuries and lawsuits all over the world. The most popular common subjects of eco lawsuits include water, wildlife, and land pollution, protection, and access rights. Environmental laws can be complicated as environmental assets can impact more than just the jurisdictions in which they lay. Water, oil, air, and forest and coastlands are frequently in dispute as private citizens, local communities, special interest groups, and the federal government debate how to treat them.
1 
Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation v. EPA 2004 - Air: authority to overrule state decisions about technology, US
2 Aldred's Case 1610 - Aesthetics: smell from pig sty
3 Amchem Products Inc. v. British Columbia Worker's Compensation Board 1993 - Workplace: asbestos, Supreme Court of Canada
4 American Elec. Power Co. v. Connecticut 2011 - Climate: greenhouse gas emissions, US
5 Anderson v. Cryovac Water: toxic contamination
6 Baltimore Gas & Elec. Co. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. 1983 - General environment: production and disposal of nuclear fuel, US
7 Burmah Oil Co. v Lord Advocate 1965 - Oil fields: destruction during World War II, Scotland
8 Cardwell v. American Bridge Co. 1885 - Waterways: common highways, US
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10 Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt 1992 - Cleanliness: interstate importation fee for disposal of hazardous waste, US
11 
Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. 1984 - Air: emissions from new equipment and total emissions from plant, US
12 
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe 1971 - Parkland: highway routing, US
13 
City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey 1978 - Cleanliness: interstate importation of waste, US
14 Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council 2009 - Water: gold mine waste disposal in Lower Slate Lake, US
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16 
Commonwealth v Tasmania 1983 - Water: hydroelectric dam on Gordon River, Australia
17 Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen 2004 - Air: pollution from international transport, US
18 
Dolan v. City of Tigard 1994 - Land: paving a parking lot, and providing a greenway and a pedestrian and bicycle pathway, US
19 
Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group 1978 - Workplace: nuclear accidents, US
20 Edwards v. National Coal Board 1949 - Land: preventing accidental rock fall in coal mine
21 Entergy v. Riverkeeper 2009 - Water: cooling water intakes for power plants, US
22 Environment Agency v Clark Land: compliance with landfill licence terms
23 
Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker 2008 - Water and land: compensation for victims of oil spill, US
24 Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation 1960 - Water: hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls, US
25 
Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. 2000 - Water: industrial pollution of North Tyger River, US
26 Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Association 1992 - Workplace: hazardous waste materials, US
27 Geer v. Connecticut 1896 - Wildlife: interstate transportation of wild fowl, US
28 Hadacheck v. Sebastian 1915 - Aesthetics: pollution from manufacture of clay bricks, US
29 Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests) 2004 - Forests: duty to consult Aboriginal groups before exploiting resources, Canada
30 Hornbeck Offshore Services LLC v. Salazar Ongoing - Water: offshore drilling, US
31 Hughes v. Oklahoma 1979 - Wildlife: federal legislation, US
32 Industrial Union Department v. American Petroleum Institute 1980 - Workplace: exposure to benzene, US
33 Interprovincial Cooperatives v. The Queen 1975 - Water: interprovincial river pollution, Canada
34 Jackson v Attorney General 2005, 2006 - Wildlife: hunting foxes and hares, United Kingdom
35 Jacksonville, MD ExxonMobil Gas Leak Case 2009 - Land and aquifers: gasoline leak from service station
36 Kansas v. Colorado 1902, 1907, 1943, 1995, 2001, 2004, 2009 - US
37 Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp., Et al. Ongoing - Climate: destruction of a community by climate change, US
38 Kleppe v. New Mexico 1976 - Wildlife: horses and burros, US
39 
Kruger and al. v. The Queen 1978 - Wildlife: hunting of deer by Aboriginals out of season, Canada
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41 
Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife 1992 - Wildlife: geographical limits of a section of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, US
42 Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association 1988 - Forests: road building and timber harvesting, US
43 M. C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath 1997 - Water and land: land encroachment causing swelling of Beas River and washing away of land, India
44 M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (Oleum Gas Leak Case) Air: pollution causing a hazard to community of Delhi, India
45 
Maine v. Taylor 1986 - Fisheries: interstate importation of fish, US
46 
Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency 2007 - Air: regulation of greenhouse gases, US
47 McLaren v. Caldwell 1884 - Waterways: common highways, United Kingdom
48 Metropolitan Edison Co. v. People Against Nuclear Energy 1983 - General environment: restarting reactor, US
49 
Missouri v. Holland 1920 - Wildlife: hunting migratory waterfowl, US
50 
Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser 2004 - Farmland: deliberate propagation of canola contaminated by genetically modified organisms, Canada