The Eighth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court ruling in an ongoing enforcement suit concerning air pollution at a utility company's coal-fired power plant in Missouri. EPA argued the company violated the CAA, Missouri's SIP, and its Title V permit by performing modificati...

A Minnesota appellate court remanded a challenge to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA's) grant of an air emissions permit for a proposed copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota. Environmental groups argued the MPCA improperly issued the permit because the company receiving it did not i...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part environmental groups' petition to review EPA's 2019 rule setting annual renewable fuel volume levels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The groups argued that EPA's "aggregate compliance approach" for determining whether biofuel qualifies as renewable f...

The D.C. Circuit vacated in part EPA's 2019 rule lifting seasonal restrictions on the sale of higher-ethanol fuel. Petroleum industry groups challenged a specific section of the rule, in which EPA announced a new interpretation of when limits on fuel volatility under §7545(h)(4) of the CAA could be...

The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed an appellate court ruling in a lawsuit concerning Volkswagen’s efforts to cheat U.S. diesel emissions tests. Ohio sued the company, arguing its post-sale tampering with emissions control systems violated the state’s Air Pollution Control Act (APCA). The company mo...

The Third Circuit affirmed dismissal of a lawsuit concerning reporting requirements for emissions following fires at a steel facility near Pittsburgh. An environmental group argued the facility operator should have reported the emissions to the federal government pursuant to CERCLA in addition to re...

The Eighth Circuit affirmed, 2-1, summary judgment for a mining company in a lawsuit concerning the company's operation of a coal mine in North Dakota. Owners of an adjacent ranch argued the company violated the CAA by failing to obtain the proper construction permit for the mine and failing to impl...

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...

A district court granted summary judgment for a utility company in a lawsuit concerning groundwater discharges from coal ash ponds at its power plant in Kentucky. Environmental groups argued that the discharges threatened immediate and substantial environmental harm to a nearby lake and streams, in ...

A district court dismissed a RCRA citizen suit brought against present and former owners of chemical plants for allegedly releasing radioactive slag deposited on landowners' properties in New York. The landowners sought injunctive relief under RCRA, including ordering the plant owners to evaluate ea...