Inside EPA (subscription required) reported this week that a group of Democratic state attorneys general have filed an amicus brief supporting EPA’s appeal of a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision holding that EPA had...more
Yesterday, in SEC v. Jarkesy, the Supreme Court ruled that the defendants in a securities fraud case brought by the SEC were entitled to have the SEC’s claims for civil penalties decided by a jury. The question now is how...more
This week, Inside EPA (subscription required) ran a story indicating that EPA is trying to figure out how to juggle some increasingly expensive cleanups with shortfalls in Superfund tax revenue. The story notes that EPA is...more
Last month, I advised plastics manufacturers to prepare for more litigation. Although I am generally loath to speculate, it already looks as though this prediction is coming true. Earlier this month, PennEnvironment and...more
In these times of much woe, it’s always noteworthy when the mainstream media reports good news. Especially when it’s good news about effective international cooperation on environmental protection issues....more
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has largely affirmed a District Court order finding that Ameren Missouri violated the NSR provisions of the Clean Air Act in making major modifications to its Rush Island facility. The...more
Last week, in what may or may not be the last round in the ongoing efforts by Michael and Chantell Sackett to build a house on wetlands in Idaho, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that:
EPA reasonably determined...more
8/27/2021
/ Appeals ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Inland Waterways ,
Jurisdiction ,
Mootness ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Late last month, Federal Judge Rodney Sippel ruled that EPA could obtain injunctive relief against Ameren Missouri in the long-running NSR enforcement case concerning Ameren’s Rush Island Plant. The Court had already ruled...more
Earlier this month, Jeffrey Wood, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources issued a memorandum expanding on Jeff Sessions’ memorandum of June 5, 2017, generally barring payments to third parties...more
Last year, after a string of defeats for EPA in its NSR enforcement initiative, I suggested that the initiative was in trouble, but that EPA was probably not yet ready to concede defeat. After the latest blow, earlier this...more
Last week, EPA released its report on Enforcement Annual Results in EPA Regions for Fiscal Year 2014. As always, the report is worth reading, if only for the interactive map which shows where EPA has brought various kinds of...more
Last Friday, EPA lost another NSR enforcement case. Not only that, but this was a case EPA had previously won. As we noted last August, Chief Judge Philip Simon of the Northern District of Indiana, had previously ruled that...more
Last month, I noted that shrinking EPA budgets would lead to greater focus on citizen enforcement. This week, an article in Law360 concerning EPA’s draft 2014-2018 strategic plan has driven that message home. While talking...more
As the EPA budget continues to get squeezed by the ongoing sequester and a GOP-controlled House that is, shall we say, less than sympathetic to EPA’s mission, it is not surprising that EPA would try to shift more of the...more
Only last month, the 7th Circuit ruled that alleged violations of the Clean Air Act’s PSD requirements are not ongoing....more
Those of us who do NPDES work know that enforcement, including citizen enforcement, against industrial point sources can often be all to straightforward. The plaintiff marches into court with a pile of the defendant’s...more