State AG Database – Solid & Hazardous Waste

The following is a list of major actions taken by state attorneys general to address problems related to the disposal of solid and hazardous waste within their jurisdictions:

• Lawsuits v. Federal Government

• Lawsuits v. Private Actors

• Criminal Cases

Lawsuits v. Federal Government

Tenn. Dep’t of Env’t & Conservation v. Tenn. Valley Auth. (Davidson Cnty. Chancery Ct. 2015): Tennessee AG filed lawsuit against TVA alleging that coal ash pollution from a power plant was contaminating water sources.

In re Aiken Cty., 725 F.3d 255 (D.C. Cir. 2013): Mandamus action to force the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to proceed with the licensing process of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository.

Hanford Site Nuclear Waste Clean-Up (2010): Series of related actions concerning the cleanup and processing of nuclear waste stored in Hanford, Washington.

Lawsuits v. Private Actors

Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd. (2006): Washington State intervened and multiple states submitted Amicus Briefs in lawsuit filed by Native American tribe against Canadian smelting company for polluting the Columbia River and Lake Roosevelt.

Criminal Cases

Ventura County and State of California v. Santa Clara Waste Water (2015): Joint prosecution between the State of California and the County of Ventura against Santa Clara Waste Water, its parent company, and individual employees for criminal violations stemming from hazardous waste disposal.