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 ...
Thompson Corners, LLC v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
A New York appellate court held that the subsequent owner of property formerly used as a permitted hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal (TSD) facility need not provide financial assurance for the ongoing performance of corrective action on the property. Article 27 of New York's Environmen...
Pacific Hide & Fur Depot v. Great American Insurance Co.
A district court held that an insurance company breached its duty to defend a steel company in an underlying contribution case under Montana's Comprehensive Environmental Cleanup and Responsibility Act (CERCA) stemming from the company's alleged release or threatened release of hazardous substances ...
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...
Energy & Environment Legal Institute v. Epel
A district court held that a conservative nonprofit group lacked standing on four of its six claims challenging Colorado's renewable energy standard (RES), which requires utilities to obtain at least 30% percent of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2020. The group claimed that three disc...
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...