The D.C. Circuit held that EPA's regulations implementing the 2008 NAAQS for ozone exceed the Agency’s authority under the CAA. In 2008, EPA revised and strengthened the standards for ozone pursuant to the CAA. One of the revisions extended the deadline for some regions to attain the new standards...
The Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court decision dismissing an environmental group's citizen suit requesting EPA to issue more stringent regulations for ozone pollution under the PSD program. The group alleged that the EPA Administrator has a nondiscretionary duty to issue revised ozone regulations u...
The Ninth Circuit held that DOT did not violate the CAA or NEPA in its approval of a planned expressway connecting the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. In the course of the project’s approval process, DOT conducted an air quality conformity determination under the CAA, which involv...
The D.C. Circuit dismissed automobile industry groups' petition challenging an EPA rule intended to mitigate the misfueling of vehicles and engines with gasoline containing greater than 10% ethanol (E10). Among other measures, the rule prohibits the use of E10 gasoline in certain vehicles, engines, ...
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...