Sierra Club v. United States Environmental Protection Agency
The Seventh Circuit denied a petition for review challenging EPA’s decisions to redesignate three geographic areas—Milwaukee-Racine, Greater Chicago, and the Illinois portion of the St. Louis area—as having attained the 1997 NAAQS for ozone. Before redesignating an area, the CAA requires EPA t...
Environment Texas Citizen Lobby, Inc. v. ExxonMobil Corp.
A district court dismissed individuals' CAA citizen suit against an oil company for emission violations at the company's refinery, olefins plant, and chemical plant in Baytown, Texas. It is undisputed the company violated some emission standards or limitations under its Title V permit. Indeed, it is...
Natural Resources Defense Council v. Environmental Protection Agency
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...
WildEarth Guardians v. McCarthy
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...
Natural Resources Defense Council v. U.S. Department of Transportation
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...
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers v. Environmental Protection Agency
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, ...
WildEarth Guardians v. United States Environmental Protection Agency
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...