The Fourth Circuit granted an oil refinery's petition to review EPA's decision denying the refinery an exemption from biofuel requirements under the Agency's renewable fuel standard program, and vacated the Agency's decision. The refinery argued that the Agency's reliance on DOE's analysis of the ex...

The D.C. Circuit denied an environmental group's petition to review FERC orders authorizing facilities to export natural gas from the United States to Mexico. The group argued that FERC, in addition to exercising jurisdiction over the export facilities at the border, also should have exercised juris...

Missouri's highest court reversed an order by the Missouri Public Service Commission denying a transmission company's application for a line certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN). The company argued that the Commission erred in denying its application for a line CCN by erroneously applying ...

A Michigan appellate court reversed an order by the Michigan Public Service Commission requiring alternative energy suppliers in the Lower Peninsula to secure in-state generating capacity to ensure reliable electric service. An industry group argued that the Commission exceeded its authority under t...

The Fourth Circuit affirmed a lower court's dismissal of landowners' challenge to FERC's approval of a natural gas pipeline. The landowners argued that the agency's practice of letting pipeline builders use eminent domain authority to take land once their project is approved is unconstitutional beca...

The Third Circuit affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a religious group's challenge to FERC's approval of a natural gas pipeline along land owned by the group. The group objected to the use of their land as part of the project, explaining that their deeply held religious beliefs require that they ...

A district court granted oil companies' motion to dismiss New York City's case seeking damages for global warming-related injuries caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from combustion of the companies' fossil fuels. The companies argued that the city's claims should be dismissed because they...

The D.C. Circuit denied environmental groups' petition to review a 2016 rule that EPA uses to determine whether an event caused by recurring activity is "exceptional" and thus exempt from a state's emissions report. The groups argued that EPA misread the definition of "natural event" under the excep...

The court vacates a district court's references for summary judgment and other liability issues under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to a special master. Two environmental groups sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Louisiana for failure to comply with CWA §303(d)'s total maxim...

The Fifth Circuit vacated a lower court's decision to preliminarily enjoin a pipeline company from constructing part of a pipeline through the Atchafalaya Basin, a sensitive wetlands area in southern Louisiana. Environmental groups argued that the EAs conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (C...