United States v. California
A district court denied the U.S. government summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning California's cap-and-trade agreement with Quebec. The government argued the agreement was conflict preempted by the foreign affairs doctrine because it created an obstacle to the effectuation of the Global Climate P...
Baptiste v. Bethlehem Landfill Co.
The Third Circuit reinstated a lawsuit concerning noxious odors emanating from a landfill in Pennsylvania. A proposed class of residents living within a 2.5-mile radius of the landfill brought public and private nuisance claims, arguing the odors and other air contaminants interfered with the use an...
New York v. Environmental Protection Agency
The D.C. Circuit vacated EPA's denial of New York's petition concerning cross-border pollution from nine upwind states. The state had asked EPA to find that power-generating and other facilities in the nine states were violating the CAA's "good neighbor" provision by producing emissions that contrib...
Clean Wisconsin v. Environmental Protection Agency
The D.C. Circuit granted in part and denied in part petitions to review EPA's attainment designations for its 2015 ozone NAAQS. Environmental groups, municipal governments, and the state of Illinois argued that the Agency failed to follow its own scientific and technical record when it decided that ...
Buffalo Field Campaign v. United States Department of the Interior
A district court granted in part and denied in part cross-motions for summary judgment in a lawsuit seeking FOIA disclosure of records concerning Yellowstone National Park's policy on the size of its bison population. A nonprofit group argued that the National Park Service (NPS) unlawfully withheld ...
National Parks Conservation Ass'n v. North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality
The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling upholding the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality's issuance of an air quality permit to construct a refinery. A conservation group argued the Department's omission of an enforceable permit limit for hazardous air pollutants (...