The Tenth Circuit denied petitions for review challenging EPA's approval of a regional cap-and-trade program regulating sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions to address regional haze over the Colorado Plateau, a Class I area. Under the CAA's regional haze rule for Class I areas, states have the option of u...
The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA's denial of a petition to reconsider an Agency rule allocating production allowances for hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), ozone-depleting refrigerants. The petitioners argued that reconsideration should be granted because the rule has an adverse environmental impact and ...
A district court dismissed Nebraska's lawsuit challenging EPA's proposed standards to limit carbon dioxide emissions from new or modified fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units. As part of the proposed rule, EPA found that certain technology was "adequately demonstrated" for purposes of...
A district court held that it has subject matter jurisdiction over a CAA §321(a) lawsuit against EPA for its alleged failure to evaluate the potential for job losses due to its CAA regulation and enforcement efforts. EPA filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the statute is discretionary and that ...
The Seventh Circuit dismissed an environmental group's lawsuit challenging EPA's decision not to object to Wisconsin's renewal of a Title V permit for a pre-1975 paper mill. Under the CAA's PSD program, emissions from pre-1975 sources count as part of the emissions baseline and not toward the overal...
A district court ordered an environmental group to pay $6.4 million in attorney fees in a citizen suit it filed against the owners of a Texas coal-fired power plant for alleged CAA violations. Below, the court dismissed the group's claims that the plant violated the Act's particulate matter (PM) and...
The Ninth Circuit vacated and remanded EPA's decision to issue a PSD permit allowing a power company to build and operate a 600 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant. EPA missed the one-year statutory deadline to grant or deny the permit; during this same period, EPA tightened the applicable air qu...
A district court held that a group of residents may go forward with their state tort law claims against a Kentucky power plant. The residents alleged that the plant emits dust and coal ash into the air and onto their homes and properties several times a month. According to the residents, not only ar...
A district court held that EPA failed to set emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants under CAA §112(c)(6) in violation of prior court orders. In 2006 and 2011, the court ordered EPA to take action by a date certain to ensure its compliance with §112(c)(6), in a manner reviewable by the co...
The Ninth Circuit upheld EPA's approval of Nevada's SIP for regional haze. In the SIP, Nevada provided reasonable progress goals for attaining natural visibility conditions at the Jarbridge Wilderness Area in remote northeastern Nevada, the state’s only Class I federal area. The SIP further requir...