In Paradise Lost, John Milton wrote that
"easy is the descent into Hell, for it is paved with good
intentions." A modern environmental lawyer might say that the
road to waste, inefficiency, and obstruction is paved with good
intentions. Nowhere is that more apparent than with citizen suit
provisions, as was demonstrated in the decision earlier this week
in
Nucor Steel-Arkansas v. Big River Steel.
Big River Steel obtained a permit from the Arkansas Department
of Environmental Quality to construct a steel mill in Mississippi
County, Arkansas. Nucor owns an existing steel mill in – you
guessed it – Mississippi County, Arkansas. Nucor brought a
host of claims in various forums (Sorry; I'm not a Latin
scholar and cannot bring myself to say "fora") in an
effort to derail the Big River Steel project. It appealed the
permit in Arkansas courts. It also petitioned EPA to object to the
permit.
