Masias v. Colorado Springs Utilities
A district court dismissed an individual's CAA lawsuit against a Colorado utility and the state's environmental agency in which he alleged that toxic fumes were emitted into his neighborhood following a fire at a nearby power plant. The plaintiff lacks standing to file suit. Although he claims that ...
Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental Protection Agency
The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA’s decision to defer adopting new secondary NAAQS for oxides of sulfur (SOx) and nitrogen (NOx) pending further scientific study. Citing doubts about the accuracy of its aquatic acidification index model—used to quantify the connection between SOx and NOx in the air an...
WildEarth Guardians v. United States Environmental Protection Agency
The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA’s decision denying environmental groups’ request to add coal mines to the regulated list of stationary source categories under the CAA. In denying the groups’ petition for rulemaking, EPA made it clear that the denial was not a determination as to whether coal ...
National Ass'n of Manufacturers v. Environmental Protection Agency
The D.C. Circuit denied industry groups' petition for review challenging EPA's 2013 primary NAAQS for fine particulate matter. In the final rule, EPA lowered the level of the particulate matter NAAQS from 15.0 μg/m3 to 12.0 μg/m3, a level slightly lower than the lowest concentrations reported as c...
Monroe Energy, LLC v. Environmental Protection Agency
The D.C. Circuit upheld EPA's renewable fuels standard (RFS) for 2013. Because EPA reduced the cellulosic ethanol blending requirement for 2013 but not the total renewable fuel volume, petroleum refiners filed suit arguing the rule should be vacated. The court disagreed. The CAA provides that if EPA...
Environmental Protection Agency v. EME Homer City Generation, L.P.
The U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded a lower court decision vacating EPA's transport rule, also known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which sets sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions limits for 28 upwind states based on those states' contributions to downwind states' air qualit...
Natural Resources Defense Council v. Environmental Protection Agency
The D.C. Circuit vacated a portion of EPA's 2013 rule regulating air emissions from Portland cement kilns. The court concluded that the emission-related portions of the rule are permissible under the CAA. It also upheld the compliance schedule implementing some of the 2013 rule's emission standards....
White Stallion Energy Center, LLC v. Environmental Protection Agency
The D.C. Circuit upheld the emission standards EPA promulgated in 2012 for mercury and other listed hazardous air pollutants emitted by coal- and oil-fired electric utility steam generating units. The rule was challenged by industry, saying the rule was too stringent, as well as by environmental gro...