Association of Public Agency Customers v. Bonneville Power Administration
The Ninth Circuit approved a settlement agreement between the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and a large number of its energy customers that sets terms for refunding customers who were previously overcharged as well as new rate terms for the next 17 years. BPA argued that the plaintiff—a gr...
California Clean Energy Committee v. City of San Jose
A California appellate court reversed a lower court decision dismissing a clean energy group's petition challenging a city's certification and approval of an environmental impact report (EIR) prepared for a proposed update to the city's general plan. The group argued that the approved final EIR fell...
Northern Laramie Range Alliance v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Tenth Circuit held that landowners lacked standing to challenge two wind energy projects in Wyoming. FERC certified the projects under the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act, which seeks to promote renewable energy sources by requiring utilities to buy power from small facilities that meet...
State Department of Finance v. Commission on State Mandates
A California appellate court held that California's Commission on State Mandates erred in ruling that certain requirements set forth in a municipal stormwater sewer permit for Los Angeles County constituted unfunded state mandates subject to reimbursement under the state constitution. Although the p...
Midwest Environmental Defense Center, Inc. v. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
A Wisconsin court held that the state environmental agency should have considered impacts on downstream water quality when it issued a state pollutant discharge elimination system permit to an industrial dairy processing plant. An environmental group challenged the permit, arguing that it would allo...
Sierra Club v. Moser
The Supreme Court of Kansas reversed and remanded the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's decision to issue a prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permit to a power company to construct an 895-megawatt coal-fired power plant. An environmental group filed suit against the state age...
Minard Run Oil Co. v. United States Forest Service
The Third Circuit affirmed a lower court decision vacating a 2009 settlement agreement between the U.S. Forest Service and environmental groups that banned oil and gas drilling in the Allegheny National Forest pending the completion of a multi-year, forestwide EIS under NEPA. The lower court had pre...