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 Seventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of a CWA citizen suit brought against the owner of a coal-fired power plant in Illinois. An environmental group argued the owner violated the CWA by discharging coal ash pollutants from its plant into groundwater that in turn entered the Middle Fork of the Verm...

A district court granted partial summary judgment in a CWA citizen suit brought against the owner of a mine in Washington. The state of Washington and an environmental group argued the mine owner had violated various terms of its NPDES permit. The owner asserted the claims were barred because there ...

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...

A district court granted a conservation group's motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning a California resident's recreational gold mining in a river in Idaho. The group argued the defendant violated the CWA by suction dredge mining during the 2014, 2015, and 2018 dredging seasons without ...

The Ninth Circuit, 2-1, affirmed in part and reversed in part dismissal of a challenge to EPA's withdrawal of a previously proposed determination restricting mining operations in part of southwest Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed. A conservation group had argued the withdrawal violated the CWA and EPA...

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...

In an unpublished opinion, the Fourth Circuit upheld the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant Maryland a CWA §404 permit for a mass transportation project. An environmental group and state residents argued that the Corps granted the permit without considering alternatives other than the optio...

The Tenth Circuit denied a company's petition to review an Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) decision denying its petition to review a 2017 permit issued by EPA to an upstream wastewater treatment plant. In its petition, the company argued the permit constituted backsliding under the CWA, particular...