Opening the Gates of Cow Palace: Regulating Runoff Manure as a Hazardous Waste Under RCRA
Reed J. McCalib*
In 2015, a federal court held for the first time that the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) may regulate runoff manure as a “solid waste” under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”). The holding of Community Ass’n for Restoration of the Environment, Inc. v. Cow Palace, LLC opened the gates to regulation of farms under the nation’s primary toxic waste statute. This Comment argues that, once classified as a “solid waste,” runoff manure fits RCRA’s definition of “hazardous waste” as well. This reclassification would expand EPA’s authority to monitor and respond to the nation’s tragically common groundwater-contamination emergencies.
*J.D. Candidate, May 2018, University of Michigan Law School. Many thanks to my friends in the Michigan Law Review Notes Office for poring over earlier drafts of this Comment, especially Paul Hoversten and Evan Lum.
