Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency
The Court held that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the statutory authority to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) from new motor vehicles. The case arose after private organizations petitioned EPA to begin regulating four GHGs, including carbon dioxid (CO2), under the Clean Air Act....
In re Tennessee Valley Authority Ash Spill Litigation
A district court held that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is liable for damages to property owners and residents following a containment dike failure at its Kingston Fossil plant that spilled more than 5 million cubic yards of coal ash sludge over approximately 300 acres. The court determined ...
'Iao Ground Water Management Area High-Level Source Water Use Permit Applications
The Supreme Court of Hawaii vacated and remanded the interim instream flow standards set by Hawaii's Commission on Water Resource Management for the Waihe'e River and the Waiehu, 'Iao, and Waikapu streams, collectively referred to as Na Wai 'Eha, or "the four great waters of Maui." In considering th...
Texas v. United States Environmental Protection Agency
The Fifth Circuit vacated EPA's disapproval of Texas's flexible permit program under the CAA. Texas submitted the program to EPA as a revision to its SIP and as a new feature of the state's minor new source review (NSR) regime. Under the program, modifications to facilities could be made without add...
United States v. NCR Corp.
The Seventh Circuit upheld a lower court's preliminary injunction compelling a PRP to complete the remediation work concerning PCB contamination at the Fox River in Wisconsin that was scheduled for this year. The PRP has performed a significant amount of cleanup at the site. But in 2011 it decided t...
Wildearth Guardians v. Public Service Co. of Colorado
The Tenth Circuit dismissed as moot an environmental group's CAA citizen suit against an energy company for building a new coal-fired power plant in Pueblo, Colorado, without a valid construction permit. Although the project initially complied with all applicable federal and state laws when construc...
National Mining Association v. Jackson
A district court held that EPA overstepped its statutory authority under the CWA and SMCRA when it issued guidance on Appalachian surface coal mining permits. EPA argued that the guidance was not final agency action and, thus, not subject to judicial review. But the court disagreed, holding that the...