The Ninth Circuit denied an environmental group's petition challenging EPA's decision to grant two air permits authorizing exploratory drilling operations in the Arctic Ocean by a drillship and its associated fleet of support vessels. The permits require the drillship to comply with best available c...
The D.C. Circuit denied a petition for rehearing of an earlier decision in which it upheld four EPA rulemakings governing greenhouse gases. EPA issued the rules following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497, 37 ELR 20075 (2007), in which the Court clarified that g...
A district court held that a refinery that settled in bankruptcy court its liability for response costs incurred at a Superfund site may seek contribution from a mining company. The mining company argued that the settlement agreement for which the refinery seeks contribution only resolves the refine...
The D.C. Circuit held that EPA's determination that it completed sufficient standards to meet CAA §112(c)(6)'s 90% requirement for hazardous air pollutants is a legislative rulemaking subject to APA notice-and-comment requirements. EPA's determination, having declared the end not only of its multi-...
The D.C. Circuit upheld an EPA rule that added the gold mine ore processing and production area source category to the list of source categories to be regulated under CAA §112(c)(6). CAA §112(c)(6) requires action by EPA on seven bioaccumulative hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), including mercury, ...
A bankruptcy court denied a company's motion to dismiss a bankruptcy trustee's CERCLA §107 claim against it for response costs incurred by the debtor to EPA, New York, and a manufacturer as a result of the debtor's settlement of their CERCLA claims. The company argued that the trustee cannot recove...
A district court held that the CAA preempts individuals' tort law action against a coal-fired power plant for property damage stemming from the plant's air emissions. In essence, the individuals' complaint attacks the plant's air emissions and asks the court to regulate them. But the CAA provides a ...