A district court dismissed environmental and animal rights groups' lawsuit against EPA for failing to respond to a 2009 petition for rulemaking that asked the Agency to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) as a source of air pollution under the CAA. The groups argued EPA violated ...

The Court of Federal Claims, in a case involving several claims arising out of the alleged federal mismanagement of tribal lands, held that CERCLA does not bar a tribe from seeking natural resource damages even though cleanup efforts at the site are not complete. The government argued CERCLA's bar o...

The Ninth Circuit held that a mining company that operates a smelter in Canada should not be held liable as an arranger under CERCLA for the release and threatened release of hazardous substances in the Upper Columbia River. The company could not be said to have "arranged" for the "disposal" of haza...

The D.C. Circuit, in a 162-page opinion, granted in part and denied in part petitions challenging three EPA rules setting NESHAPs for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator (CISWI) units. The petitioners brought approximately 30 challe...

The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA's compliance deadlines for states to meet the NAAQS for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The court previously had ruled that the framework EPA had been applying to PM2.5 was incorrect, and ordered the Agency to apply a stricter statutory framework. EPA then promulgated th...

The Fifth Circuit stayed EPA's regional haze plan for Oklahoma and Texas until the underlying petitions for review challenging the rule are resolved. Texas, energy companies, power plants, and others challenged EPA's action disapproving Oklahoma's and Texas' plans and imposing its own plans instead....