The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA's denial of a petition to reconsider an Agency rule allocating production allowances for hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), ozone-depleting refrigerants. The petitioners argued that reconsideration should be granted because the rule has an adverse environmental impact and ...
A district court dismissed Nebraska's lawsuit challenging EPA's proposed standards to limit carbon dioxide emissions from new or modified fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units. As part of the proposed rule, EPA found that certain technology was "adequately demonstrated" for purposes of...
A Louisiana court held that the state erred in issuing a coastal use permit to a natural gas storage and transport company that was needed to create two new natural gas storage caverns in the Jefferson Island salt dome underneath Lake Peigneur. The state's natural resource department violated the st...
The Third Circuit struck down New Jersey's Long Term Capacity Pilot Program Act, which was enacted in 2011 to encourage the construction of new power plants within the state. The program, known as "LCAPP", would add a cumulative 2,000 megawatts of capacity to the regional power grid from which New J...
A district court held that it has subject matter jurisdiction over a CAA §321(a) lawsuit against EPA for its alleged failure to evaluate the potential for job losses due to its CAA regulation and enforcement efforts. EPA filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the statute is discretionary and that ...
The Seventh Circuit dismissed an environmental group's lawsuit challenging EPA's decision not to object to Wisconsin's renewal of a Title V permit for a pre-1975 paper mill. Under the CAA's PSD program, emissions from pre-1975 sources count as part of the emissions baseline and not toward the overal...
A district court ordered an environmental group to pay $6.4 million in attorney fees in a citizen suit it filed against the owners of a Texas coal-fired power plant for alleged CAA violations. Below, the court dismissed the group's claims that the plant violated the Act's particulate matter (PM) and...
A Michigan appellate court upheld the state environmental agency's decision to grant a groundwater discharge permit to a company in connection with its plan to develop an underground mine to extract nickel and copper from the sulfide ores beneath the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River. The permit,...
A Michigan appellate court upheld the state environmental agency's decision to grant mining and discharge permits to a company to develop an underground mine to extract nickel and copper from the sulfide ores beneath the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River. Environmental groups opposed the permits,...