The cases listed below appear in the most recent issue of ELR's Weekly Update. For cases previously reported, please use the filter on the left.
Volume 42, Issue 24
The First Circuit upheld an individual's conviction for illegally trafficking in sperm whale teeth and narwhal tusks in violation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).
The D.C. Circuit vacated EPA's transport rule, also known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which sets sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions limits for 28 upwind states based on those states' contributions to downwind states' air quality problems.
The Ninth Circuit upheld FWS regulations issued under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) that authorize the incidental take of polar bears and Pacific walruses resulting from oil and gas exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea and on the adjacent coast of Alaska.
A district court held that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is liable for damages to property owners and residents following a containment dike failure at its Kingston Fossil plant that spilled more than 5 million cubic yards of coal ash sludge over approximately 300 acres.
The D.C. Circuit held that trade associations for the engine, petroleum, and food industries lack standing to challenge two EPA decisions approving the introduction of E15—a blend of gasoline and 15 percent ethanol—for use in select motor vehicles and engines.
The D.C. Circuit held that FWS did not violate the ESA by removing the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel from the list of endangered species even though several criteria in the agency's recovery plan for the species had not been satisfied.