A district court dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction a suit concerning EPA's CAA obligations to regulate pollution from coke ovens. Environmental groups argued the CAA required EPA to perform a risk assessment every time it revised its technology-based standards for a hazardous polluti...
The Tenth Circuit held that EPA erred in denying an environmental group's petition to review the renewal of a state-issued Title V operating permit for a coal-fired power plant in Utah. The group's petition argued that EPA should object to the renewal because it failed to "assure compliance" with al...
A district court stayed the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which substantially narrows the definition of "waters of the United States" that are subject to federal regulation under the CWA, in Colorado. Colorado argued that the Supreme Court's ruling in Rapanos v. United States foreclosed the appr...
A district court denied a motion for preliminary relief in a challenge to the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which substantially narrows the definition of "waters of the United States" that are subject to federal regulation under the CWA. California argued that EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers...
The Sixth Circuit reversed, 2-1, a district court ruling that required the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to comply with the ESA and NEPA before approving an oil pipeline operator's response plans for addressing the risk of a potential oil spill. A conservation group ...
A district court granted a university board of governors' motion to remand to state court a lawsuit concerning groundwater contamination beneath university land from a nearby facility. The board filed suit in state court, arguing that the facility released volatile and semivolatile organic compounds...
A district court denied EPA's motion to dismiss a lawsuit concerning its duty to update its National Contingency Plan (NCP) for addressing oil and hazardous substance contamination. Environmental groups argued that the current NCP is dangerous because it continues to permit the use of chemical dispe...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court's dismissal of a suit challenging an automobile company's use of diesel-cheat devices to evade compliance with federally mandated emission standards. Two counties argued the company's installation of and modification to the dev...
The Fifth Circuit upheld EPA's decision to reject a challenge to a CAA Title V permit it issued for expansion of a plant in Baytown, Texas. Environmental groups requested that EPA reject the permit on the grounds that the underlying Title I preconstruction permit allowing the expansion was invalid. ...
The First Circuit vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) for a proposed natural gas compressor station that is part of a natural gas pipeline connecting the northeastern U.S. and Canada. Nearby municipalities and citizens argued that MDEP impr...