Clean Air Act

Texas Supreme Court Rules in Southern Crushed Concrete that Texas Clean Air Act Preempts City of Houston Land Use Ordinance

by Jacob Arechiga, Steven Dimitt, Michael Knapek, Peter Wahl | Jackson Walker on 5/3/2013

On February 15, 2013, the Texas Supreme Court reversed the rulings of both a trial court and lower appellate court and found in favor of Southern Crushed Concrete in holding that a City of Houston ordinance placing location...more

Massachusetts Packaging Plant Pays Nearly $485K Penalty For Environmental Violations

by Philip Ahrens, John M. Formella, Kenneth Gray, Dixon P. Pike | Pierce Atwood LLP on 4/17/2013

A packaging company in Dudley, MA has agreed to pay $484,900 in penalties to settle EPA claims that the company violated numerous federal and state regulations. The violations occurred at the company’s liquid and aerosol...more

Watt’s New? Michigan Energy Newsletter - March 2013

by Laura Chappelle, Matthew B. Eugster, Bruce Goodman, Randall Kraker, Timothy J. Lundgren, Toni Newell, David Preston, Jack Sage, Eric Schneidewind, Matthew Zimmerman | Varnum LLP on 4/9/2013

In This Issue: - Highlights of MPSC Annual Report - Good Neighbor Fund Payments Made - Coal Plants Sued for Pollution Exceedances - Pure Michigan Solar Panel - New Grant for Efforts to Remove Barriers to...more

EPA Permitting Regulations Vacated—Project Delays Expected

by Darlene Marsh | Burr & Forman on 3/29/2013

The recent decision in Sierra Club v. EPA, 705 F.3d 458 (D.C. Cir. 2013) vacated all of EPA’s rules on Significant Monitoring Concentrations (“SMCs”), as well as some (the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (“PSD”)...more

Coal Plants Sued For Pollution Exceedances

by Bruce Goodman | Varnum LLP on 3/21/2013

On March 12 the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court against DTE Energy Company alleging violations of the federal Clean Air Act. The complaint cited 1499 instances between January 1, 2007 and June 30, 2012...more

Native Village Of Kivalina Files Its Petition For Certiorari - A Five-Year Climate Change Litigation Marathon That Has Yet To...

by J. Wylie Donald | McCarter & English: Climate Change &... on 3/18/2013

One day short of five years since the case was originally filed, on February 25, 2013 the plaintiffs in Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp. attempt once more to get out of the starting blocks, this time with a...more

EPA Tightens Air Regulations for Emissions During Shutdown, Startup and Malfunction

by William Cleveland, IV, Perrin Dargan, III, Cliff Rothenstein, John Spinello | K&L Gates LLP on 3/14/2013

Introduction - Of particular concern to electric utilities and other major sources operating under Title V permits, on February 12, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) initiated steps under the Clean...more

The Fifth Circuit Rejects EPA’s Disapproval of Alabama’s Opacity Regulation: Do We Blame EPA, DOJ, or Two Judges?

by Seth Jaffe | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 3/11/2013

On Wednesday, in Alabama Environmental Council v. EPA, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected EPA’s 2011 disapproval of Alabama’s opacity regulation. The case involves relatively obscure provisions of the Clean Air Act,...more

EPA’s New Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials Rule

by Richard Stoll | Foley & Lardner LLP on 3/8/2013

In its massive new industrial boiler rules (issued January 31, 2013), EPA singled out “manufacturers of motor vehicle parts and accessories” as one of the most affected industry types. On February 7, 2013, EPA issued a new...more

"D.C. Circuit Decision May Significantly Impact the Process for Obtaining Clean Air Act Permits"

by Henry Eisenberg, Don Frost, Jr. | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 2/28/2013

In Sierra Club v. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 1408 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 22, 2013), the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision that is likely to have a significant impact on...more

It Is Easy to Lose the Privilege Protecting Audit Documents

by Larry Burke | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 2/22/2013

In a recent case, documents related to an audit which was described in internal correspondence as being done to assess general compliance were not privileged in later civil litigation since the Court found: (1) the audit was...more

Combine New Gas Plants, Lower Gas Prices, and More Stringent Emission Controls and What Do You Get? Lower Emissions

by Seth Jaffe | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 2/14/2013

ISO New England has just released its Electric Generator Air Emissions Report for 2011. The bottom line?...more

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Proposes 50 Percent Increase in Title V Annual Air Emissions Fees

by Richard H. Friedman, Scott Gould | McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on 2/11/2013

If you are one of the nearly 560 Title V facilities in Pennsylvania, DEP has proposed a 50 percent increase in your annual air emissions fees. (See 43 PA Bulletin 677, February 2, 2013.) Under the proposal, you will pay $85...more

EPA Finalizes Revisions To Clean Air Standards For Stationary Engines

by Scott Hitch | Burr & Forman on 2/8/2013

On January 15, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized revisions to standards to reduce air pollution from stationary engines that generate electricity and power equipment at industrial, agricultural,...more

Legislative Update Report No. 2013-03 -- Feb 8, 2013 .

by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 2/8/2013

In This Article: Federal Government; Alberta; British Columbia; Manitoba; New Brunswick; Newfoundland; Northwest Territories; Nova Scotia; Nunavut; Ontario; Prince Edward Island; Québec/Quebec; Saskatchewan; and Yukon....more

The "State" of the Shale Play in the United States: A Look Back on 2012 and What to Expect in 2013

by Martin Booher, Cassie J. Dallas, Jason Yearout | BakerHostetler on 2/5/2013

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

When Do Air Emissions Constitute a Discharge to Waters of the United States? Any Time the Emissions Reach Waters of the United...

by Seth Jaffe | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 2/4/2013

In a fascinating post today, my colleague from the American College of Environmental Lawyers, Patricia Finn Braddock, reported on a case at the intersection of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act that could have...more

Boiler Or Incinerator And Secondary Materials That Are Solid (Not Hazardous) Wastes

by Ronald Farley | Burr & Forman on 2/1/2013

It’s almost never easy to fathom federal environmental regulations and this held true when a set of regulations was recently issued by the U.S. EPA. On December 20, 2012, the Agency issued a series of rules, primarily under...more

EPA Will Continue to Apply the "Functional Interdependence" Test for Air Quality Source Determinations Outside of the Sixth...

by Tad Macfarlan, David Overstreet, Bryan Rohm, Craig Wilson | K&L Gates LLP on 1/24/2013

Introduction - On December 21, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a new guidance memorandum (the “Page Memorandum”) on single source determinations for the oil and gas industry under the Clean...more

DC Circuit Remands PM2.5 Implementation Rules to EPA

by Cozen O'Connor on 1/24/2013

On January 4, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held in Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA, No. 08-1250, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had improperly promulgated...more

EPA Loses Another PSD Case: The Clean Air Act is “Extraordinarily Rigid”

by Seth Jaffe | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 1/23/2013

In Sierra Club v. EPA, issued today, The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected EPA’s rules governing “significant impact levels” and “significant monitoring concentrations” for determining PSD permitting...more

Approval of $1.375 million in EPA Fines Highlights Importance of Commercial Property Owners Complying with Environmental Reporting...

by Jarrett Bingemann, Robyn Neely | Akerman Senterfitt on 1/23/2013

On January 3, 2013, the Environmental Appeals Board approved an administrative settlement that requires New Cingular Wireless PCS to pay a total of $1.375 million in fines and environmental projects for alleged violations of...more

Skadden's 2013 Insights: Regulatory

by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 1/21/2013

Communications Law: The Relentless Pursuit of Broadband Competition - As the Obama administration enters its second term, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) is one of many federal agencies likely...more

DISPUTE RESOLUTION: Oil & Gas Litigation: Seven States Threaten to Sue to Force EPA to Address Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas...

by King & Spalding on 1/18/2013

New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont recently sent EPA Administrator Jackson a Clean Air Act Notice of Intent to Sue based on the Agency’s failure to take certain actions...more

Patton Boggs Insights - December 2012: Litigation/Courts: Three Sentenced To Prison For Asbestos Violations

by Patton Boggs LLP on 1/18/2013

Three Tennessee men have been sentenced to a combined total of more than seven years in prison for Clean Air Act and other violations related to a demolition project. ...more

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