ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
§ 1 General Provisions
SEE TORTS
Samoan Code prohibits pollution of sources of public water. (CAS 865.) Faamuli v. Leiato, 3 A.S.R. 308.
Consent decrees (pertaining to the American Samoa Environmental Quality Act, A.S.C.A. §§ 24.0101 et seq., and the Water Quality Standards, A.S.A.C. § 24.0201 et seq.) are binding only on the parties thereto and do not define or restrict the rights of the United States or of any private party, either with respect to the right to bring any action or to the merits of such action. American Samoa Government v. StarKist Samoa, Inc., 16 A.S.R.2d 27.
Existing coastal management rules and regulations were not nullified by the Development Planning Office's failure to formally promulgate new, statutorily-required rules for administering the American Samoa Coastal Management Program. A.S.C.A. § 24.0506(a)-(b); A.S.A.C. §§ 26.0201 et seq. Le Vaomatua v. American Samoa Government, 23 A.S.R.2d 11.
To establish standing to enforce environmental laws, (1) a party must show that he has suffered an injury-in-fact, and (2) the alleged injury must arguably be within the statute's zone of interests. Le Vaomatua v. American Samoa Government, 23 A.S.R.2d 11.
For purposes of standing, aesthetic and environmental harm can constitute injury-in-fact. Le Vaomatua v. American Samoa Government, 23 A.S.R.2d 11.