The court upheld a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that increased the stringency of nitrogen oxide emission standards applicable to newly certified commercial aircraft gas turbine engines under Clean Air Act §231. Although the final rule tightens EPA regulations by 16%, almost all a...

The court denied petitions for rehearing regarding its previous vacatur and remand of a final 2004 rule implementing the eight-hour ozone national ambient air quality standards under the Clean Air Act (CAA) in South Coast Air Quality Management District v. EPA, 472 F.3d 882, 37 ELR 20003 (D.C. Cir. ...

The Court held that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not violate Endangered Species Act (ESA) §7(a)(2) when it transferred national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permitting authority to Arizona under Clean Water Act (CWA) §402(b) without first reviewing the effec...

The court upheld a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) order in which it declined to object to a Clean Air Act (CAA) Title V permit granted to a power company by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for the operation and construction of a major stationary source. An environmental gro...

The D.C. Circuit denied petitions for review of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation governing the permitting process for facilities that burn hazardous waste as fuel. In 2005, EPA issued maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards for hazardous waste combustors. EPA al...

A district court dismissed on motions for summary judgment individuals' Clean Water Act (CWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Rivers and Harbors Act, and state-law claims against a dairy that runs a concentrated animal feeding operation. The individuals, who live near the dairy, argu...

A court holds that the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) preempts individuals' state-law claims against several grocery stores for selling artificially colored farmed salmon without disclosing to consumers the artificial coloring. In enacting FFDCA §337(a), Congress made clear its intent...

The court upheld the dismissal of Native American tribes' claims against the U.S. government for authorizing the expansion of certain gold mines. Specifically, the tribes argued that the government violated its obligation to protect tribal trust resources—primarily water rights—by authorizing th...

The court denied an environmental group's petition for writ of mandate challenging a state permit allowing the U.S. Department of the Navy to discharge stormwater into the San Diego Bay. Although the state could have issued a permit that imposed numeric limits on chemicals in the Navy's stormwater d...

The court affirmed a lower court decision against a company in a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) citizen suit action concerning mercury contamination along the Penobscot River. The lower court found that the company's disposal activities may have created an imminent and substantial dan...