Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in two significant cases: Nat’l Assoc. of Mfr. v. Dep’t of Defense and Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC.
In National Association of Manufacturers, the Court is being asked to...more
On August 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided the case of Sierra Club, et al., v. State of North Dakota, et al., a Clean Air Act (CAA) Citizen lawsuit. The Ninth Circuit affirmed, in a 2-1 ruling, the...more
On August 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit decided the case of Sinclair Wyoming Refining Company, et al., v. U.S. EPA. In a split decision, the Tenth Circuit vacated a final order of the Environmental...more
In Americans for Clean Energy, et al v. EPA, decided July 28, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2015 rule establishing renewable fuel...more
The 2016 Term of the U.S. Supreme Court was fairly quiet, perhaps reflecting the fact that with only eight members, the Court needed a working consensus to handle its docket. The Court handed down seventy rulings, but only a...more
7/25/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
BNSF Railway Co v Tyrrell ,
CalPERS v ANZ Securities ,
Clean Water Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Employers Liability Act ,
Federal Vacancies Reform Act ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Murr v Wisconsin ,
NLRB ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 13 ,
Securities Act of 1933
The first Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ( RCRA) solid waste definitional decision, the celebrated American Mining Congress v. EPA case, was decided exactly 30 years ago, and it reverberates to this day.
In...more
On July 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held, in a 2 to 1 decision, that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lacked authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to issue a temporary stay of its new...more
Only a few existing federal environmental rules have been set aside or overturned by the new Administration, and these actions were taken by the Congress in accordance with the special procedures of the Congressional Review...more
6/20/2017
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Buy American Act ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
FLPMA ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Risk Management ,
Trump Administration ,
Waters of the United States ,
Young Lawyers
On May 30, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit decided the case of Environmental Integrity Project, et al. v. EPA. Affirming the District Court, the Court of Appeals held that Exemption 4 of the Freedom of...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 authorized appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2017. This large and copious bill provides funding for all Federal agencies for this fiscal year. The Congressional committees included...more
The new administration at the Environmental Protection Action has taken these actions:
- Reconsidering the New Methane Rules.
On June 3, 2016, pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA promulgated amendments to the...more
On April 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated thecow-300x234 Environmental Protection Agency’s December 18, 2008 CERCLA/EPCRA Administrative Reporting Exemption for Air Releases of...more
On February 9, the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the decisions of the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (OEQC) and the Oregon Court of Appeals that Oil Re-Refining Company (ORRCO) was strictly liable for “simple”...more
On January 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the lower court and held that EPA’s 2008 promulgation of the “Water Transfers Rule” (Rule) published in the Federal Register at 73 FR 33697 on June 13,...more
“The old order changeth, yielding place to new.” January 2017 has been a very active month, with several important environmental and federal administrative court rulings being issued, and many significant rules being proposed...more
On December 21, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed the Final Rule revising the EPA’s Chemical Accident Prevention regulations, generally known as the Risk Management Program (RMP). These...more
On April 7, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in Gulf Restoration Network, et al., v. McCarthy, vacated and remanded a decision of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana...more
On December 13, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided the case of United States of America, e ex rel. Jeffrey M. Simoneaux v. E. I. duPont de Nemours & Company. Reversing the district court, the Fifth...more
Below is a snapshot of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act water-300x200(S. 612) passed late last week by the Congress. The President has indicated that he will sign the bill.
Title I of the Act is...more
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its “EJ 2020 Action Agenda.” EPA confirms that it will three basic goals: -
Deepen the environmental justice (“EJ”) practice within EPA programs...
...more
On April 8, 2016, the Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, at Austin, issued an important decision interpreting the standard of review that applies to the judicial review of certain administrative enforcement orders issued...more
A group of environmental organizations, headed by the Sierra Club, filed a Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen’s lawsuit against the BNSF Railway Company, alleging that the railroad, the only transporter of coal in Washington,...more
On October 17, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia coalgranted summary judgment to Murray Energy Corporation, which sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking declaratory and...more
“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
Many important environmental and administrative law decisions were reported by the federal and state courts over the past six months. The courts are dealing with very...more
10/17/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Air Pollution ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Boilers ,
CERCLA ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Federal Vacancies Reform Act ,
FERC ,
Hawkes Co v United States Army Corps of Engineers ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Lockheed Martin ,
Navarro v Encino Motorcars ,
NEPA ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
NLRB v SW General ,
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ,
Railways ,
Renewable Energy ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Waters of the United States
In the case of National Resources Defense Council , et al. , v. Illinois Power Resources, LLC and Illinois Power Resources Generating, LLC, decided August 23, 2016, the United States District Court for the Central of District...more