Novel RCRA Citizen Suits Rise As Federal Enforcement, Funding Decline

摘要

The number of citizen suits filed under the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) is rapidly increasing as citizens test novel theories including expanded endangerment claims and related unique arguments, taking the place of federal enforcement, regulation and funding that is declining, according to a private practice attorney. "There's been a huge surge in the number of citizen suits brought under the [RCRA] endangerment provision," Joseph Drapalski, an attorney with the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, said on a recent American Bar Association webinar on emerging trends in litigating RCRA citizen suits. He added that the types of cases have also changed, with plaintiffs testing a number of new theories under RCRA's imminent and substantial endangerment provision.