Bass Energy v. City of Broadview Heights
An Ohio court struck down a city's ban on drilling new oil and gas wells within its jurisdiction. On the one hand, the ban is a clear exercise of the city's police power; by attempting to ban oil and gas drilling, the city is trying to protect the public health and general welfare. But the ban is in...
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas v. Darwin
An Arizona court overturned the state's issuance of an air permit for a proposed open-pit copper mine. An environmental group argued that the state's approval of the permit was arbitrary and capricious because the mine has the potential to violate NAAQS. They also claimed that the mine's modeling re...
Berkeley Hillside Preservation v. City of Berkeley
The California Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision that a developer's proposal to demolish an existing home and build a 10,000 square-foot single-family home on the lot may not be categorically exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). After th...
California Dump Truck Owners Ass'n v. Nichols
The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a trucking association's federal preemption challenge to a California environmental regulation on diesel trucks. The regulation requires heavy-duty diesel trucks, whose emissions contribute significantly to particulate matter and ozone pollution, to be upgra...