A Pennsylvania court affirmed the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board's civil penalty assessment against a natural gas exploration company for violating the state Clean Streams Law. The company argued there was insufficient evidence to support the board's determination that contaminated water c...

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of oil and trucking industry groups' challenge to Oregon's Clean Fuels Program, which regulates production and sale of transportation fuels based on greenhouse gas emissions. The groups argued that the program violated the dormant Commerce Clause by facially ...

A California appellate court affirmed a trial court decision concerning application of the state's public trust doctrine to the state's extraction of groundwater in the Scott River watershed. Environmental groups argued that groundwater resources that are interconnected with the surface water flows ...

The Third Circuit denied review of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's decision to grant a CWA §401 certification for a natural gas pipeline project. Environmental groups argued that the department acted arbitrarily and capriciously by issuing a §401 certification that was im...

The Ninth Circuit denied an environmental group's petition to review EPA's approval of a Montana SIP revision. The group argued that the approval was arbitrary and capricious because Montana's Department of Environmental Quality interpreted one of the SIP's provisions less stringently than the CAA a...

The D.C. Circuit granted in part environmental groups' petition challenging EPA's 2015 rule governing the disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) produced by electric utilities and independent power plants. The groups argued that the rule unlawfully disregarded significant risks of harmful leak...

The D.C. Circuit vacated EPA's rule delaying the 2017 Chemical Disaster Rule, which established safety standards for chemical facilities. The Agency argued that it had authority under CAA §112 to delay the effective date of the Rule beyond the ninety-day limit set forth in CAA §307 because ninety ...

A state review board affirmed the Washington Department of Ecology's denial of a CWA §401 certification requested by a coal company for a proposed coal export terminal. The company argued that its request was categorically exempt from the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and that the departme...

A district court ruled in favor of environmental groups' challenge EPA's rule suspending the 2015 Waters of the United States Rule (WOTUS Rule), and enjoined the suspension rule nationwide. The groups argued that the suspension rule violated the APA by refusing to solicit public comments on the meri...

The Fourth Circuit denied environmental groups' petition to review Virginia's issuance of §401 certification under the CWA for construction of a natural gas pipeline. The groups argued that state agencies acted arbitrarily and capriciously in issuing the §401 certificate because the agencies didn'...