The U.S. Supreme Court held that certain aspects of local fleet rules do not escape preemption under CAA §209(a) simply because they address the purchase of vehicles rather than their manufacture or sale. The fleet rules prohibit the purchase or lease of vehicles by fleet operators that do not ...

The Sixth Circuit upheld EPA's redesignation of Cleveland, Ohio, from nonattainment to attainment for particulate matter under CAA §107(d)(3)(E). An environmental group argued that EPA illegally waived statutory requirements when it redesignated the area to attainment by not fully approving the...

The court holds that the Illinois Coal Act violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Act requires public utilities to devise Clean Air Act (CAA) compliance plans and present them to the Illinois Commerce Commission for approval. The Act requires the utilities and the Commission to t...

The court holds that New Mexico's environmental agency may not bring an enforcement action in federal court to seek federalpenalties under §113 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for violations of its state implementation plan (SIP) after successfully prosecuting a state court enforcement action against th...

The court upholds a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that allows a state to stop Clean Air Act (CAA) §179(a)'s 18-month countdown to imposition of sanctions when it is triggered by an EPA finding that the state failed to submit a complete state implementation plan (SIP). Under the ru...

The court holds that provisions of Indiana's Environmental Compliance Plans Act (ECPA) that favor a utility's use of Indiana coal violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The ECPA allows a utility to seek an early review by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) of the utility...

The court holds that provisions of Indiana's Environmental Compliance Plans Act (ECPA) that favor a utility's use of Indiana coal violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The ECPA allows a utility to seek an early review by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) of the utility...

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not violate the U.S. Constitution's Tenth Amendment or Spending Clause by imposing Clean Air Act (CAA) offset and highway sanctions against Missouri for its failure to properly implement its state implementation plan (SIP). The ...

The Third Circuit denies an organization of manufacturers' and local governments' petition for review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) denial of Pennsylvania's request to redesignate the Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley area from nonattainment to attainment status for ozone under the Cl...

A district court denied motions for summary judgment on states' claims that an electric utility modified one of its coal-fired power plants in violation of the prevention of signnificant deterioration (PSD) permitting requirements set forth in Clean Air Act §165(a). The court held that the rout...