The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA's designation of Yellowstone County, Montana, and Wayne County, Michigan, as "nonattainment" under the sulfur dioxide (SO2) NAAQS. Two petitioners—an industry association and a steel company—challenged the designations, albeit for different reasons. The industry assoc...
A district court denied in part and granted in part EPA's motion to dismiss property owners' lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of an EPA compliance order under CWA §309. EPA determined that, in the course of developing the property, the owners discharged dredge and fill materials into water...
A district court granted in part and denied in part New York's motions to dismiss a company's counterclaims against it in the state's underlying CERCLA action for response costs. The state claimed that the Eleventh Amendment barred the company's counterclaims because the state has neither consented ...
A district court upheld Oregon's clean fuels program, which seeks to reduce lifecycle emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from transportation fuels by 10% over a 10-year period. Trade associations argued that the program was unconstitutional because it discriminates against out-of-state commerce. Bu...
The Third Circuit vacated and remanded EPA's approval of Pennsylvania's 2014 regional haze SIP. CAA §169A requires states to evaluate the impact that emissions from certain sources of pollution within their borders have on atmospheric visibility in national parks and wilderness areas, known as Clas...
The Ninth Circuit held that California's commercial fishing fees for nonresidents violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the U.S. Constitution. California's commercial fishing license fees are significantly higher for out-of-state fishers than for residents. For example, California residen...
The Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. Forest Service's continued authorization of a 6-foot-tall Jesus statue on national forest land overlooking a northwestern Montana ski resort does not violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The statue, known as "Big Mountain Jesus," was placed ...