The United States has economically recoverable coal reserves of about 261 billion tons, which is in excess of a 250-year supply based on 2009 consumption rates. However, in the near future, the use of coal may be legally restricted because of concerns over the effects of its combustion on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. In response, the U.S.
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin upheld the state environmental agency's decision to issue a permit to a town for a municipal well. Two groups challenged the agency's decision to issue the permit without considering the well's potential impact on nearby Lake Beulah, a navigable water. A circuit c...
The Federal Claims Court held that the U.S. government need not indemnify developers for remediation costs they incurred complying with state agency orders concerning property formerly used as a military base. The developers' insurance company sought reimbursement from the government under the ...
A district court held that environmental groups may pursue a RCRA claim against the current and former owners of a steel mill for disposing of hazardous waste without a permit, but dismissed the groups' remaining RCRA and CWA claims. The groups' claims that the mill has released and continues t...
In today’s politically polarized environment, legislative and judicial actions tend to be characterized as either stunning victories or crushing defeats. The next-day media reporting and hyperbolic press releases on the U.S. Supreme Court’s American Electric Power et al. v. Connecticut et al. (AEP) decision involving actions to reduce greenhouse gas pollution reflect this trend. Certainly, the U.S.
The Ninth Circuit held that a seafood processor association may not intervene in environmental groups' lawsuit challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service's program to preserve groundfish species off the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington. A lower court denied the association's m...
A district court, in an underlying NEPA suit, denied the Navy's request for a voluntary remand for further consideration of the future location of a firing range complex in Guam. Plaintiffs argued that a voluntary remand to the agency is only appropriate where either there have been intervening...
Purchasers who knowingly take title to real property found to be contaminated with hazardous substances during pre-purchase due diligence may be subject to liability for remediation costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), unless those purchasers are able to establish CERCLA’s bona fide prospective purchaser defense (the BFPP Defense).
A district court dismissed an environmental group's claim that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated NEPA, the CWA, and the APA by granting a CWA §404 permit to a railroad company without completing an EIS. The Corps' finding that the chosen site was the least environmentally damaging prac...
The D.C. Circuit upheld the dismissal of a CAA citizen suit challenging EPA's failure to take action to prevent the construction of three proposed pollution-emitting facilities in Kentucky. The lower court held that there was no mandatory duty to act and granted EPA's motion to dismiss for lack...