The Sixth Circuit held that the CAA does not categorically prevent EPA from challenging preconstruction projections of whether and to what extent emissions will increase following new source construction. In March 2013, the appellate court reversed and remanded a district court ruling in favor of an...

The D.C. Circuit granted EPA's request to remand the NESHAPs for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers to the Agency without vacatur so that it can conduct rulemaking to modify them in accordance with the court's earlier ruling. On July 29, 2016, the court granted in part and denied in p...

The Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling denying business owners’ motion to preliminary enjoin the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, from proceeding with construction of a rapid transit bus system due to alleged NEPA and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) violations. The business o...

A district court dismissed a class action lawsuit against an automobile company for allegedly misleading consumers into purchasing certain diesel vehicles by misrepresenting their environmental impact. The class of consumers alleged that the company's advertisements and public statements represented...

The D.C. Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, denied an environmental group's petition for review challenging FERC's approval of a proposed liquefied natural gas project in Texas. The group argued that FERC violated NEPA in its consideration of the projects’ indirect and cumulative effects. But as ...

The Tenth Circuit upheld a lower court decision denying environmental group's request to preliminarily enjoin the drilling of certain oil and gas wells in the Mancos Shale formation of the San Juan Basin in New Mexico. The groups filed a lawsuit under NEPA challenging 260 drilling permits in the Man...

A district court held that EPA, in connection with its enforcement and implementation of the CAA, failed to adequately evaluate potential job losses, particularly with respect to the coal industry, in violation of CAA §321(a). Section 321(a) requires EPA to “conduct continuing evaluations of pote...

A district court held that BLM violated NEPA when it issued a FONSI in connection with an energy company's application to drill 16 new gas wells at its natural gas plant in northeastern Utah. Environmental groups alleged that BLM violated NEPA by failing to take a “hard look” at the environmenta...

A district court dismissed environmental and animal rights groups' lawsuit against EPA for failing to respond to a 2009 petition for rulemaking that asked the Agency to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) as a source of air pollution under the CAA. The groups argued EPA violated ...

A district court upheld the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' and FWS' management plan, EIS, and associated permits authorizing the “take,” or killing, of double-crested cormorants in the Columbia River estuary, even though the agencies failed to consider reasonable alternatives other than killing i...