A district court held that EPA, in connection with its enforcement and implementation of the CAA, failed to adequately evaluate potential job losses, particularly with respect to the coal industry, in violation of CAA §321(a). Section 321(a) requires EPA to “conduct continuing evaluations of pote...

A district court dismissed environmental and animal rights groups' lawsuit against EPA for failing to respond to a 2009 petition for rulemaking that asked the Agency to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) as a source of air pollution under the CAA. The groups argued EPA violated ...

The D.C. Circuit, in a 162-page opinion, granted in part and denied in part petitions challenging three EPA rules setting NESHAPs for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator (CISWI) units. The petitioners brought approximately 30 challe...

The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA's compliance deadlines for states to meet the NAAQS for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The court previously had ruled that the framework EPA had been applying to PM2.5 was incorrect, and ordered the Agency to apply a stricter statutory framework. EPA then promulgated th...

The Fifth Circuit stayed EPA's regional haze plan for Oklahoma and Texas until the underlying petitions for review challenging the rule are resolved. Texas, energy companies, power plants, and others challenged EPA's action disapproving Oklahoma's and Texas' plans and imposing its own plans instead....

A district court ordered EPA to impose a "good neighbor” federal implementation plan (FIP) for Texas with respect to the 1997 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) NAAQS. In 2015, the D.C. Circuit invalidated portions of EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which included a FIP addressing interstate tr...

A district court dismissed on summary judgment environmental groups' lawsuit against a mining company for alleged SIP violations as it relates to NAAQS for coarse particular matter (PM10). Under the Utah SIP's "material moved" provision for PM10, total material moved (ore and waste) may not exceed 1...

The Eighth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a steel company's CAA citizen lawsuit seeking injunctive relief to stop a competitor from constructing or continuing to construct a steel mill. Arkansas's environmental agency already issued the competitor a preconstruction PSD permit. Ne...

The Sixth Circuit upheld a lower court decision sentencing an individual to 60 months in prison and ordered the individual and his co-defendants, jointly and severally, to pay $10,388,576.71 in restitution to EPA for asbestos NESHAPS violations. The individual and co-defendants formed a salvage comp...

The Fifth Circuit vacated and remanded a lower court decision that imposed no penalties against an oil company for alleged CAA permit violations at its industrial complex in Baytown, Texas. An environmental group filed a CAA citizen suit against the company, alleging violations that occurred thousan...