The D.C. Circuit denied a challenge to EPA's 2015 rule updating the standards under which the Agency audits wood-burning heaters' compliance with CAA emissions limits. An industry group argued the rule was invalid because, unlike the 1988 rule, it authorized testing at other labs and neither account...

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...

A district court dismissed a lawsuit concerning the city of Chicago’s delay in issuing an operating permit for a recycling facility in the city’s Southeast Side neighborhood. The company argued its constitutional rights were being violated as a result of the city’s delay of the permit review p...

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 Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a county in South Carolina in a lawsuit concerning the county's alleged taking of honey sellers' bees. The sellers argued their bees died after the county sprayed pesticide in an effort to kill mosquitoes, and thus constituted a Fifth Amendment taking...

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...