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...

A Michigan appellate court upheld the state environmental agency's decision to grant a groundwater discharge permit to a company in connection with its plan to develop an underground mine to extract nickel and copper from the sulfide ores beneath the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River. The permit,...

A Michigan appellate court upheld the state environmental agency's decision to grant mining and discharge permits to a company to develop an underground mine to extract nickel and copper from the sulfide ores beneath the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River. Environmental groups opposed the permits,...

The Ninth Circuit vacated and remanded EPA's decision to issue a PSD permit allowing a power company to build and operate a 600 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant. EPA missed the one-year statutory deadline to grant or deny the permit; during this same period, EPA tightened the applicable air qu...

A Colorado court held that the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Act preempts a city's five-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. The city is a "home-rule" city, meaning it has “the full right of self-government” on local and municipal matters. Nevertheless, a local ordinance that infringes on...

A Georgia appellate court held that the 25-foot buffer requirement set forth in Georgia’s Erosion and Sedimentation Act applies to all state waters and wetlands, not just those with vegetation wrested by normal stream flow or wave action. The case arose after environmental groups challenged a buff...

A district court held that a mining company allowed excessive amounts of selenium to be discharged from one of its surface coal mine operations in violation of the CWA and SMCRA. The company's state permit does not explicitly impose selenium limitations, but it does incorporate by reference state re...

The South Carolina Supreme Court held that the operator of a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility failed to comply with state groundwater protection regulations and must therefore submit a written plan for compliance or face potential revocation of its operating license. The operator first ...

A district court held that a group of residents may go forward with their state tort law claims against a Kentucky power plant. The residents alleged that the plant emits dust and coal ash into the air and onto their homes and properties several times a month. According to the residents, not only ar...

A district court held that EPA failed to set emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants under CAA §112(c)(6) in violation of prior court orders. In 2006 and 2011, the court ordered EPA to take action by a date certain to ensure its compliance with §112(c)(6), in a manner reviewable by the co...