Podcast - Diamond Alternative Energy, LLC v. EPA: The Intersection of Constitutional and Environmental Law
SCOTUS Clean Air Act Cases: What’s New?
Unpacking California's 2024 Zero Emission Fleet Mandate
West Virginia vs. EPA Part II: U.S. Supreme Court Applies the Major Questions Doctrine to limit EPA Regulatory Authority
[Webinar] Growing Greener: Navigating Environmental Laws in the Cannabis Industry
Nota Bene Episode 101: Catching up with Global Climate Regulation with Nico van Aelstyn
Schoenbrod: SCOTUS Ruling Helps EPA Deal With a "Stupid Statute"
Law Prof: The Clean Air Act Needs a Reboot
In the weeks since Holland & Knight previously reported on challenges to California's Clean Air Act (CAA) preemption waivers on April 30, 2025, Congress has taken decisive action. Following the U.S. House of Representatives'...more
A local state court in Pennsylvania recently dismissed an array of climate tort claims brought against major fossil fuel companies by a local government--in this case, Bucks County. Among the three dozen or so climate tort...more
In recent years, states and municipalities have attempted to hold fossil fuel companies liable for their alleged impacts on climate change. Numerous states and municipalities have sued fossil fuel companies, alleging that...more
As we have noted previously, a number of states have enacted legislation and/or brought claims against fossil fuel producers seeking payment for damages resulting from climate change. Legislative efforts include New York...more
On May 1, 2025, the federal government brought separate suits against both New York and Vermont alleging that these state’s “climate Superfund” statutes are unconstitutional on multiple grounds. In two nearly identical...more
When it comes to regulating motor vehicle emissions, California has long been different. California was the first state in the nation to enact tailpipe emission standards and as result of its "pioneering" efforts in the...more
States are increasingly turning to “Climate Superfund” laws as a potential mechanism to offset the growing costs of climate-related disaster recovery and the construction of more climate change-resilient infrastructure. These...more
On Monday morning, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Juliana v. United States. The cert. denial leaves in place the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that ordered the case dismissed for lack of standing. At least for...more
On February 6, 2025, twenty-two states and four energy industry organizations and businesses filed a lawsuit challenging New York’s “climate superfund” law. This law, signed on December 26, 2024 by New York Governor Kathy...more
Update and Background - The U.S. Supreme Court, in Diamond Alternative Energy, LLC v. EPA, et al, recently declined to review whether the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) exceeded its authority by granting a...more
Under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 209(a) (42 U.S.C. § 7543), states are preempted from adopting or enforcing emissions standards for new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines. However, because California had adopted its...more
In City of Baltimore v. BP, et al., court holds that nuisance and tort claims are preempted by federal law and beyond the limits of state law....more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued four decisions today: Moyle v. United States; Idaho v. United States, Nos. 23-726, 23-727: After granting certioriari to decide whether the Emergency Medical Treatment and...more
The Supreme Court’s day started with the specter of yet another leak of a reproductive rights decision having occurred....more
On February 20, 2024, the City of Chicago sued defendant fossil fuel companies in Illinois state court, asserting state law claims, including nuisance, violations of consumer protection laws, and products liability. Chicago...more
On Tuesday, in Ohio v. EPA, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied several challenges to EPA’s decision to restore California’s authority under § 209(b) of the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions from motor vehicles. It’s...more
On April 12, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3” (the Phase 3 proposed rule or NPRM), establishing...more
A federal court heard motions for summary judgment in challenge to first-in-nation rule requiring warehouses to adopt clean technologies. By Joshua Bledsoe, Nick Cox, and Jennifer Garlock On April 17, 2023, a US federal judge...more
What is the significance of EPA’s March 30, 2023 Notice of Decision (pre-publication) granting two separate requests for waivers of Clean Air Act (“CAA”) preemption for California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) regulations...more
Ohio et al. v. EPA, No. 22-1081, currently being briefed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, presents significant issues about the scope of federal and state sovereignty, the resolution of which could have...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in February 2022 that federal jurisdiction did not exist over a case brought by a group of Colorado municipalities accusing several energy companies of climate...more
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its Notice of Decision in the Federal Register to rescind EPA’s 2019 withdrawal of California’s waiver of preemption under Section 209 of the Clean Air Act (CAA)...more
On Tuesday, February 8, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit laid down a ruling in a lawsuit brought by a group of Colorado municipalities accusing several energy companies of climate change-related harm. Alleging...more
In the first appellate decision to decide the issue since the Supreme Court decision in BP P.L.C. v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, the 10th Circuit ruled this week that climate damage claims brought by several Colorado...more
In the past four years, state attorneys general or municipalities have brought 21 lawsuits based on state-law claims (e.g., nuisance, trespass, consumer fraud) seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for costs allegedly...more