Federal Control of Carbon Capture and Storage
The United States has economically recoverable coal reserves of about 261 billion tons, which is in excess of a 250-year supply based on 2009 consumption rates. However, in the near future, the use of coal may be legally restricted because of concerns over the effects of its combustion on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. In response, the U.S.
Lake Beulah Management District v. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin upheld the state environmental agency's decision to issue a permit to a town for a municipal well. Two groups challenged the agency's decision to issue the permit without considering the well's potential impact on nearby Lake Beulah, a navigable water. A circuit c...
Indian Harbor Insurance Co. v. United States
The Federal Claims Court held that the U.S. government need not indemnify developers for remediation costs they incurred complying with state agency orders concerning property formerly used as a military base. The developers' insurance company sought reimbursement from the government under the ...
Chesapeake Bay Foundation v. Severstal Sparrows Point, LLC
A district court held that environmental groups may pursue a RCRA claim against the current and former owners of a steel mill for disposing of hazardous waste without a permit, but dismissed the groups' remaining RCRA and CWA claims. The groups' claims that the mill has released and continues t...
The Supreme Court’s AEP Decision: Snatching Climate Change Solutions Victory From the Jaws of Defeat
In today’s politically polarized environment, legislative and judicial actions tend to be characterized as either stunning victories or crushing defeats. The next-day media reporting and hyperbolic press releases on the U.S. Supreme Court’s American Electric Power et al. v. Connecticut et al. (AEP) decision involving actions to reduce greenhouse gas pollution reflect this trend. Certainly, the U.S.
West Coast Seafood Processors Assn. v. Natural Resources Defense Council
The Ninth Circuit held that a seafood processor association may not intervene in environmental groups' lawsuit challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service's program to preserve groundfish species off the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington. A lower court denied the association's m...