The Seventh Circuit reversed the denial of transmission companies' motion to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the Wisconsin Public Service Commission's approval of a $500 million electricity transmission line in southwestern Wisconsin. Environmental groups challenged the approval on constitutional...

The Fourth Circuit dismissed a petition to vacate or set aside the FAA's modification to a series of flight routes that caused residents of historic areas of a county in Maryland to endure "insufferable levels of noise." The county argued that the FAA failed to comply with environmental statutes and...

The D.C. Circuit denied in part and dismissed in part a petition to review EPA's guidance concerning the process of certifying cellulosic biofuel. A biofuel company argued the guidance was a legislative rule that was invalidly promulgated without notice and comment, conflicted with the regulation it...

A district court granted states' motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning EPA's duty to limit air pollution drifting from upwind states into northeastern states. Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York argued that EPA failed to fulfill a nondiscretionary duty under ...

A district court denied a motion to enforce its previous order vacating DOI's repeal of the Valuation Rule and reinstating prior regulations governing payment of royalties on oil, gas, and coal extracted pursuant to leases on federal and Indian lands. Conservation groups argued that the Office of Na...

The Fifth Circuit vacated and remanded a lower court decision that imposed penalties against an oil company for alleged CAA permit violations at its industrial complex in Baytown, Texas. Environmental groups filed a CAA citizen suit against the company, alleging violations that occurred thousands of...

A district court denied the U.S. government summary judgment in a lawsuit concerning California's cap-and-trade agreement with Quebec. The government argued the agreement was conflict preempted by the foreign affairs doctrine because it created an obstacle to the effectuation of the Global Climate P...

The Third Circuit reinstated a lawsuit concerning noxious odors emanating from a landfill in Pennsylvania. A proposed class of residents living within a 2.5-mile radius of the landfill brought public and private nuisance claims, arguing the odors and other air contaminants interfered with the use an...

The D.C. Circuit vacated EPA's denial of New York's petition concerning cross-border pollution from nine upwind states. The state had asked EPA to find that power-generating and other facilities in the nine states were violating the CAA's "good neighbor" provision by producing emissions that contrib...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part and denied in part petitions to review EPA's attainment designations for its 2015 ozone NAAQS. Environmental groups, municipal governments, and the state of Illinois argued that the Agency failed to follow its own scientific and technical record when it decided that ...