Login

Forgot password?
Sign up today and your first download is free.
REGISTER

Litigation

Environmentalists Cite Scalia In Defense Of 9th Circuit Groundwater Ruling

Environmentalists are urging the Supreme Court to reject competing legal arguments from EPA and a Hawaii county that pollution in groundwater can never be subject to the Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements, arguing that the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s plurality opinion in Rapanos v. United States does not permit that result.

992 words

223016

DOJ Cites High Court Auer Ruling In Defending Vapor Intrusion Site Listing

Just weeks after the Supreme Court narrowly backed the doctrine that mandates judicial deference to EPA and other agencies, the Justice Department (DOJ) is citing the decision in an effort to bolster its defense against a lawsuit by industry groups attempting to strike down one of EPA’s first Superfund listings based solely on vapor intrusion.

968 words

223014

Final CWA jurisdiction rule repeal lands at OMB

The repeal seeks to end the patchwork of policies courts have created in their rulings on the Obama-era rule but the new measure faces a slate of challenges that could revive a patchwork.

445 words

223010

Draft EPA Plan Seeks Sharp Limits On EAB, Sparking Litigation Warning

A draft plan circulating within EPA would sharply curtail the role of the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) in a bid to speed permit reviews -- including possible elimination of the current administrative appeals process -- prompting warnings from critics that it could backfire by scaling back EAB’s role in building an administrative record that EPA can use to defend permits in court.

996 words

223008

EPA poised to propose barring citizen permit appeals to EAB

“Individual in communities will lose a way to seek relief from pollution that has historically been very effective. But industry will still be able to seek relief to pollute more,” says one critic.

366 words

223003

5th Circuit to rehear case testing EPA’s NSR enforcement authority

The appeals court’s rehearing process could ultimately lead to a reversal of a ruling that currently supports EPA’s approach to enforcing the Clean Air Act new source review permit program.

713 words

222986

EPA Finalizes Policy Giving Enforcement ‘Deference’ To State Agencies

EPA enforcement chief Susan Bodine has signed the final version of a long-standing interim memo detailing when the agency will defer to states on inspections, enforcement actions and related matters, creating a more-structured process for consultation between federal and state officials and adding detail on exceptions to the policy.

948 words

222983

Biofuels Producers Urge D.C. Circuit To Rehear Dismissed RFS Waiver Suit

Biofuels groups are petitioning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to reconsider its ruling that rejected their suit challenging EPA’s policy for granting small refiners’ requests for waivers from renewable fuel standard (RFS) biofuels blending obligations, claiming the court erred by dismissing the case on procedural grounds.

635 words

222979

Ahead Of 2020 Election, Trump Deregulatory Efforts Remain Uncertain

The Trump administration’s ability to issue durable deregulatory policies remains unclear given judicial and Hill scrutiny, as well as whether agencies can quickly complete such rulemakings and President Donald Trump wins a second term in the 2020 election, according to several experts.

1567 words

222977

NRECA Seeks To Replace UARG In Air Rule Lawsuit, Drawing Opposition

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is asking an appeals court to allow it to replace the now-defunct Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG) in litigation over EPA’s cross-state air pollution rule (CSAPR), drawing opposition from Democratic-led states involved in the case.

1198 words

222960

Pages