A Washington appellate court affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit filed by young Washingtonians alleging a right to a clean environment and stable climate. Specifically, plaintiffs requested that the court order the state to develop "an enforceable state climate recovery plan" because the...

A district court remanded to state court climate liability lawsuits brought by the city and county of Honolulu and the county of Maui against oil companies. The companies argued the suits should remain in federal court because plaintiffs' claims were related to the companies' activities on the outer...

The D.C. Circuit vacated three provisions of EPA's 2018 rule implementing NAAQS for ozone. Environmental groups challenged four provisions of the rule: the interprecursor trading program, a provision allowing states to demonstrate compliance with the CAA's "reasonable further progress" milestone req...

The D.C. Circuit vacated EPA's Affordable Clean Energy Rule that repealed and replaced the Clean Power Plan as a means of regulating power plants' greenhouse gas emissions. A group of public health petitioners sought review of the rule's conclusion that §7411 of the CAA only permitted emission redu...

The Fifth Circuit denied petitions to review EPA's 2018 redesignation of Bexar County, Texas, from attainment to nonattainment and designation of three neighboring counties as attainment/unclassifiable for 2015 ozone NAAQS. Texas argued EPA only had authority to change the state's recommended design...

The Eighth Circuit affirmed, 2-1, a ruling in favor of a mining company in a challenge to the company's failure to obtain a CAA construction permit for a mine in rural North Dakota. The owners of an adjacent ranch argued that the company failed to obtain the proper permit under the CAA and failed to...

The Fourth Circuit granted for a second time an oil refinery's petition to review EPA's decision denying the refinery an exemption from biofuel requirements under the Agency's renewable fuel standard program, and vacated the Agency's decision. The refinery argued that EPA arbitrarily relied on DOE's...

The First Circuit affirmed a district court order remanding to state court Rhode Island's climate change lawsuit against several oil companies. The companies argued that the suit was properly removed to federal court because the state's complaint presented a federal question. The district court foun...

The Oregon Supreme Court affirmed, 6-1, an appellate court decision vacating a lower court ruling that no trial was needed in a climate change lawsuit concerning Oregon's obligations to protect natural resources under the public trust doctrine. Two young Oregonians argued the state was required to a...

A district court granted in part and denied in part an oil company's motion to dismiss a climate change adaptation lawsuit brought against it. An environmental group brought a citizen enforcement action under the CWA and RCRA, challenging the company's failure to adapt one of its storage terminals t...