CALCASIEU LEAG. FOR ENV. AC. NOW v. Thompson

661 So. 2d 143
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 14, 1995
DocketCA 931978
StatusPublished

This text of 661 So. 2d 143 (CALCASIEU LEAG. FOR ENV. AC. NOW v. Thompson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
CALCASIEU LEAG. FOR ENV. AC. NOW v. Thompson, 661 So. 2d 143 (La. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

661 So.2d 143 (1995)

CALCASIEU LEAGUE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION NOW
v.
Herbert W. THOMPSON, Commissioner, Office of Conservation, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources; and Cecos International, Inc.

No. CA 931978.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

July 14, 1995.
Rehearing Denied September 13, 1995.
Writ Denied December 15, 1995.

*144 Daria Burgess Diaz, New Orleans, for appellee-plaintiff CLEAN.

Ernest A. Burguieres, III, Baton Rouge, for appellant-defendant Com'r of Conservation, Dept. of Natural Resources.

William Jarman, Baton Rouge, for appellant-defendant CECOS Intern., Inc.

Before CARTER, FOIL, WHIPPLE, PARRO and FITZSIMMONS, JJ.

FOIL, Judge.

This appeal challenges the action of the trial court in vacating a modified hazardous waste permit. After a thorough review of the record, we reverse.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The lengthy facts forming the basis for this appeal are not in dispute. Calcasieu League for Environmental Action Now (CLEAN) filed this lawsuit challenging an order of the Commissioner of Conservation which granted a modified permit request submitted by CECOS International, Inc. (CECOS). CECOS operates a waste disposal facility in Calcasieu Parish, commonly referred to as the Willow Springs facility. Prior to 1989, CECOS operated a Class I hazardous waste disposal well at the facility under the authority of a commercial waste disposal permit issued by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation (Conservation). Pursuant to this permit, CECOS disposed of commercially derived liquid hazardous waste generated by various chemical and manufacturing companies.

On November 20, 1989, Conservation promulgated Statewide Order 29-N-2, which required all operators of existing Class I hazardous waste injection wells to apply to Conservation for approval to continue operating. In accordance with this order, CECOS submitted its "repermit" application, in which it specifically requested that the status of its well be changed from commercial to noncommercial hazardous waste disposal. In the application, CECOS identified the sources of waste to be disposed of as those wastes generated by CECOS and its parent company, Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI).

After informing CECOS that the application was administratively complete, Conservation prepared a draft permit which set forth that CECOS was amending the status of its well from commercial to noncommercial hazardous waste disposal. The draft permit identified the source of waste to be disposed as those wastes generated by CECOS and BFI.

Thereafter, members of the public, including CLEAN, challenged the repermit request on the basis that Louisiana law precluded the holder of a noncommercial permit from disposing of waste generated by any entity other than the holder of the permit, *145 including affiliates of the permit holder. Specifically, CLEAN relied on La.R.S. 30:4.1, which provides that the term "commercial operations" as defined in the environmental laws "pertains to those who dispose of hazardous waste material off the site where produced by others." (Emphasis added). CLEAN urged that the draft was contrary to the law because it allowed CECOS to dispose of wastes generated by "others" (its affiliates) while operating as a noncommercial facility. Conservation agreed with the public comment, and in written responses thereto, stated that allowing CECOS to dispose of wastes generated at facilities other than those owned or operated by CECOS would break the corporate veil, and would violate the intent of the repermit application to convert the facility to noncommercial waste disposal.

On December 18, 1991, Conservation issued Order No. 91-25 WD, approving the continued operation of CECOS' well as a Class I noncommercial hazardous waste disposal well. The order limited the sources of wastes to be disposed of to wastes generated at facilities owned or operated by CECOS. The order specifically prohibited CECOS from disposing of any wastes generated by BFI or any of BFI's subsidiaries.

Several days later, CECOS petitioned Conservation to reconsider and to hold an adjudicatory hearing on the order, challenging the waste source limitation contained in the order. CECOS urged that it had expressly requested permission to continue injecting wastes generated by BFI and its subsidiaries. However, the order issued by Conservation represented a complete reversal of Conservation's earlier position, as evidenced by the draft permit, that CECOS could permissibly operate a noncommercial facility and dispose of wastes generated by BFI. CECOS contended that Conservation should have given it the opportunity to be heard on the waste source issue prior to issuing Order No. 91-25 WD, and Conservation should have resolved this crucial question before issuing the permit.[1]

On March 17, 1992, CECOS submitted a request for modification of the order, seeking authority to operate the well as a Class I commercial hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal well. Conservation issued a draft modified permit for public notice. The draft modified permit provided that all references in the initial order stipulating the disposal well as being authorized only for Class-I noncommercial waste disposal were nullified. The public notice advised that if the modification was granted, CECOS would revert back to a Class I commercial hazardous waste injection well operator.

A public hearing on the modified permit request was held, during which many members of the public, including representatives of CLEAN, spoke out against the proposed modification, urging Conservation to allow the noncommercial permit with its waste source limitation to remain in full force. CLEAN also filed written comments on the proposed modification, contending that there was no "legal cause" to justify the modification.

On July 7, 1992, Conservation granted CECOS' request for a modified permit, and issued Supplement to Order No. 91-25 WD, which is the challenged action in this litigation. The supplemental order authorized the operation of the facility as a Class I commercial restricted hazardous and unrestricted nonhazardous waste disposal facility. It limited the source of commercial waste disposal to: (1) hazardous waste generated at facilities owned or operated by CECOS; (2) hazardous waste generated at facilities owned or operated by BFI or subsidiaries of BFI; and (3) waste generated as a result of BFI or its subsidiaries' involvement in CERCLA corrective actions (Superfund clean-ups). The modified permit also allowed CECOS to dispose of nonhazardous waste from any source.

*146 Thereafter, CLEAN filed this lawsuit against Conservation and CECOS, contending that the modified permit was improperly issued on two procedural grounds. First, CLEAN urged that the modification was unlawful because Conservation did not have "legal cause" necessary for permit modification. Secondly, CLEAN contended that the public notice and fact sheet on the proposed modification were procedurally deficient because they did not specifically list all sources of waste and volumes of waste to be disposed of at the facility, in contravention of Conservation's rules and regulations.

CECOS filed an exception of no right of action, asserting that CLEAN did not have standing to seek judicial review of the Supplemental Order. Additionally, CLEAN, CECOS and Conservation filed motions for summary judgment, agreeing that there were no facts in dispute in this case.

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Calcasieu League for Environmental Action Now v. Thompson
661 So. 2d 143 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1995)

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661 So. 2d 143, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/calcasieu-leag-for-env-ac-now-v-thompson-lactapp-1995.