The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, vacated summary judgment for a California city in a RCRA citizen suit brought by an environmental group. The group had argued the city's water wells were contaminated by hexavalent chromium that was in turn transported to city residents through its water distribution system. ...

A state appellate court upheld the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission's (MPUC's) approval of affiliated-interest agreements for construction and operation of a natural gas-fired power plant in Wisconsin. Environmental groups argued substantial evidence did not support MPUC's determinations that t...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part petitions to review the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) order regarding the adequacy of the Commission's guidelines for exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation. Environmental groups argued the FCC violated the APA by failing to acknowledge evidence of n...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part and denied in part a challenge to FERC's orders addressing complaints over the results of a 2015 auction for electrical capacity in Illinois. A public interest group had complained the auction had resulted in electricity rates that were unjust and unreasonable, that ...

The Ninth Circuit upheld FERC's denial of an environmental group's motion to intervene in post-licensing deadline extension proceedings for a hydroelectric project in California. The group had argued that FERC violated Rule 214 of the Commission's regulations in denying intervention and §6 of the F...

A district court granted in part and denied in part the city of Berkeley's motion to dismiss a challenge to its recently enacted ordinance affecting the availability of natural gas in new construction within the city. A restaurant group argued the ordinance was federally preempted by the Energy Poli...

The Tenth Circuit reversed dismissal of a lawsuit concerning a New Mexico city's imposition of fees on residents who generate their own electricity via solar panels. The residents and an advocacy group argued the city's fees amounted to price discrimination in violation of FERC rules. The district c...

The U.S. Supreme Court held, 6-3, that a small refinery that previously received a hardship exemption from renewable fuel requirements may obtain an "extension" even if it saw a lapse in exemption coverage in a previous year. A group of renewable fuel producers had petitioned for review of EPA's gra...

The D.C. Circuit dismissed a nonprofit group's petition to review DOE's rule concerning the designation of critical electric infrastructure information. The group argued the rule exceeded DOE's authority under §215A of the Federal Power Act, was arbitrary and capricious, and was promulgated in viol...

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a settlement of environmental liabilities must resolve a CERCLA-specific liability to give rise to a contribution action under §113(f)(3)(B), in a lawsuit concerning a landfill in Guam formerly owned by the U.S. Navy. After entering into a consent decree...