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
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
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 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
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 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
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
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
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
The Earth’s climate is changing. With unprecedented fires in California and the State’s litigation with the federal government, the Brazilian rainforest fires, and the aircraft industry’s inability to curb aircraft emissions,...more
On June 26 and 29, 2020, the petitioners in Union of Concerned Scientists v. NHTSA, Case No. 19-1230 (D.C. Cir.), filed briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing against the first...more
Multi-state coalition’s lawsuit challenges Trump EPA withdrawal of California Clean Air Act waiver. EPA formally announced its decision to withdraw California’s 2013 Clean Air Act waiver, which allowed the state to set its...more
Yesterday, EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released the “Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule Part One: One National Program,” more succinctly known as the withdrawal of the...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed a challenge to Oregon’s Clean Fuels Program (“Program”). See American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers v. O’Keeffe, No. 15-35834, 2018 WL 4263250 (9th Cir....more
Last week, Boulder made good on its threat to file a lawsuit seeking potentially billions of dollars from energy producers based on the effects of climate change. The city and county of Boulder, along with San Miguel...more
As federal efforts to roll back environmental regulations from the Obama era continue, environmental groups have been increasingly filing lawsuits against industry alleging damages related to climate change impacts, using the...more
During 2012, several states adopted new statutory and regulation programs addressing the exploitation of shale resources within their boundaries. Continuing a common election year theme, Congress took no significant formal...more
Originally published in Law360 on December 17, 2012. Left open by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, 131 S. Ct. 2527 (2011), was the question of whether state law nuisance...more