Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition v. Elk Run Coal Co.
A district court held that mining companies discharged excessive amounts of ionic pollution, measured as conductivity, into the waters of West Virginia in violation of their federal NPDES and state surface mining permits. The companies argued that the court could not rule in the groups' favor becaus...
Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Inc. v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
A district court dismissed an environmental group's lawsuit challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 2012 reissuance of Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP 21), a five-year general permit authorizing surface coal mining operations to discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the United States if ...
Masias v. Colorado Springs Utilities
A district court dismissed an individual's CAA lawsuit against a Colorado utility and the state's environmental agency in which he alleged that toxic fumes were emitted into his neighborhood following a fire at a nearby power plant. The plaintiff lacks standing to file suit. Although he claims that ...
Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental Protection Agency
The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA’s decision to defer adopting new secondary NAAQS for oxides of sulfur (SOx) and nitrogen (NOx) pending further scientific study. Citing doubts about the accuracy of its aquatic acidification index model—used to quantify the connection between SOx and NOx in the air an...