A district court held that a Texas right-of-first-refusal law giving existing electricity transmission providers in the state a preference to build and operate new lines is constitutional. An energy company argued the Texas law barred it from obtaining a certificate of convenience and necessity for ...

The Tenth Circuit vacated EPA orders that granted extensions of exemptions under the CAA's renewable fuels program for three small refineries. Industry groups challenged the orders, arguing that EPA failed to honor the statutory requirement of an "extension" by confusing an extension of an exemption...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated a lower court ruling that found an energy developer trespassed on neighboring landowners' property by extracting natural gas from their property by way of hydraulic fracturing without permission. The developer argued that the extraction did not amount to trespa...

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The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court order denying the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Board's petition to enforce subpoenas issued against an oil company following an explosion and chemical release at one of its refineries. The district court found that 29 of the subpoenas were enforceable, ...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court order directing DOE to publish four energy conservation standards in the Federal Register. Environmental groups and states argued that an agency regulation known as the error-correction rule imposed upon DOE a nondiscretionary duty to publish the standards...

The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA's decision not to issue financial responsibility requirements for the hard-rock mining industry. Environmental groups argued the decision violated CERCLA by wrongly interpreting the term "risk" in the operative provisions as limited to the risk of taxpayer-funded response...

A state high court upheld the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee's denial of a utility company's application for siting, construction, and operation of a high-voltage transmission line to carry electricity from Canada into New England. The company argued the committee failed to consider all rel...

The D.C. Circuit upheld an EPA rule that classified as "recycled" certain hazardous material sent to a third-party reclamation facility and thus exempted the material from RCRA regulations governing discarded waste. Environmental groups argued the rule violated RCRA because material that a generator...

The D.C. Circuit dismissed a petroleum refiner's petition to review an EPA document interpreting a portion of the Energy Independence and Security Act that directs the Agency to perform periodic reviews of renewable fuel thresholds for gasoline. The refiner argued that the Agency incorrectly interpr...