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...

A district court held that the U.S. Forest Service violated NEPA when it categorically excluded from environmental review a mining company's proposed mineral exploration plan in the Coronado National Forest. The Forest Service categorically excluded the project because it concluded that the project ...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA's) approval of a Native American tribe's plan to harvest 268 acres of timber in the Coquille Forest in southwest Oregon. An environmental group challenged the approval, arguing that BIA failed to adequately consider the cumulative environme...

The Fifth Circuit reversed an oil company's convictions for violating the CAA and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) in connection with its wastewater treatment system at its Corpus Christi refinery. The company was convicted for knowingly operating two uncovered tanks as oil-water separators without ...

The Seventh Circuit upheld EPA's approval of revisions to Illinois' SIP, thereby rejecting challenges raised by Indiana. Indiana argued that the relaxation of Illinois' vehicle emissions testing program will decrease the likelihood that the Chicago area—which includes two Indiana counties—will a...

The D.C. Circuit denied an environmental group's petition for review challenging FERC's decision to issue a natural gas pipeline operator a certificate of public convenience and necessity to extend a natural gas pipeline in Maryland. The group argued that FERC's issuance of the conditional certifica...

A district court held that it lacks jurisdiction over Oklahoma's lawsuit against EPA challenging its proposed emission standards for coal-fired power plants. The state argues that the proposed emission standards, if adopted as a final rule, would constitute an ultra vires action in violation of the ...

The D.C. Circuit, on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, invalidated EPA's 2014 emissions budgets under the transport rule, also known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, as applied to various states. The CAA's "good neighbor" provision requires upwind states to prevent sources within their borde...

The D.C. Circuit denied petitions challenging an EPA regulation that revised the NESHAP for hexavalent chromium, a carcinogenic compound that gets emitted into the air during the chrome-finishing process. The new rule, issued in 2012, imposes more stringent emissions limitations than its predecessor...