A district court ordered EPA to issue federal implementation plans fully resolving interstate transport obligations under the CAA's "good neighbor" provision for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. EPA conceded that it missed the deadline to do so under the Act. The Agency also acknowledged that it was feasible t...
The Tenth Circuit refused to stay pending interlocutory appeal a lower court order staying BLM's waste prevention rule, which was issued to reduce the venting, flaring, and leaking of natural gas emissions during oil and gas production activities on onshore federal land. California, New Mexico, and ...
The D.C. Circuit upheld amendments EPA made to its CAA regional consistency regulations that allow regional offices to act counter to national policies when ordered to do so by federal circuit courts. EPA issued the amended regulations in 2016 in response to the D.C. Circuit's decision in National E...
The D.C. Circuit held that a mining company must exhaust its administrative remedies before it can challenge potential claims filed against it under the Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA). The BLBA grants coal miners the right to monthly benefits payments from a former employer in the event they suffer ...
A district court ordered EPA to promulgate revised CAA emission standards for nine industrial sectors by October 1, 2021. Environmental groups wanted the overdue rulemakings to be completed within two years, while the Agency requested seven years. The court determined that three and a half years was...
A district court upheld a surface coal mining permit issued to a company even though the cotenant objected to any mining on the property. The company cotenant conveyed the right to enter and surface mine coal to an affiliate, but the other cotenant did not consent to surface mining. Nevertheless, th...
The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA's 2012 regional haze rule, which seeks to restore air quality and visibility in certain national parks and wilderness areas to what they would be under natural conditions. The rule requires states to impose best available retrofit technology (BART) on certain stationary p...