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42 U.S.C. § 6972

Citizen suits

United States · Title 42 — THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE · Status: effective

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Citation
42 U.S.C. § 6972, Citizen suits, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/480998
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Full text

Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of this section, any person may commence a civil action on his own behalf— No action may be commenced under subsection (a)(1)(A) of this section— prior to 60 days after the plaintiff has given notice of the violation to— No action may be commenced under subsection (a)(1)(B) of this section prior to ninety days after the plaintiff has given notice of the endangerment to— No action may be commenced under subsection (a)(1)(B) of this section if the Administrator, in order to restrain or abate acts or conditions which may have contributed or are contributing to the activities which may present the alleged endangerment— No action may be commenced under subsection (a)(1)(B) of this section if the State, in order to restrain or abate acts or conditions which may have contributed or are contributing to the activities which may present the alleged endangerment— No action may be commenced under paragraph (a)(2) of this section prior to sixty days after the plaintiff has given notice to the Administrator that he will commence such action, except that such action may be brought immediately after such notification in the case of an action under this section respecting a violation of subchapter III. Notice under this subsection shall be given in such manner as the Administrator shall prescribe by regulation. Any action respecting a violation under this chapter may be brought under this section only in the judicial district in which such alleged violation occurs. In any action under this section the Administrator, if not a party, may intervene as a matter of right. The court, in issuing any final order in any action brought pursuant to this section or section 6976 of this title, may award costs of litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees) to the prevailing or substantially prevailing party, whenever the court determines such an award is appropriate. The court may, if a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction is sought, require the filing of a bond or equivalent security in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Nothing in this section shall restrict any right which any person (or class of persons) may have under any statute or common law to seek enforcement of any standard or requirement relating to the management of solid waste or hazardous waste, or to seek any other relief (including relief against the Administrator or a State agency). A transporter shall not be deemed to have contributed or to be contributing to the handling, storage, treatment, or disposal, referred to in subsection (a)(1)(B) taking place after such solid waste or hazardous waste has left the possession or control of such transporter, if the transportation of such waste was under a sole contractual arrangement arising from a published tariff and acceptance for carriage by common carrier by rail and such transporter has exercised due care in the past or present handling, storage, treatment, transportation and disposal of such waste.

Legislative history

The public laws that enacted or amended this section. Tallies are for the whole bill as it passed each chamber — often an omnibus covering far more than this provision — not a vote on this section alone. The law that originally enacted this section predates the public laws loaded here, so only later amendments are listed.

  • Amended byPub. L. 94-580(S. 2150)1976-10-21
    Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
    House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
  • Amended byPub. L. 95-609(S. 3083)1978-11-08
    Quiet Communities Act of 1978
    House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
  • Amended byPub. L. 98-616(H.R. 2867)1984-11-08
    Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984
    House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally