Last week, a number of Democratic Senators filed an amicus brief in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, arguing that the Supreme Court should not overrule Chevron. The first heading under the argument section of the brief...more
Earlier this month, Judge William Young dismissed for lack of standing claims brought by the Conservation Law Foundation alleging that bus companies violated anti-idling regulations. The opinion is important, because it does...more
Last week, Inside EPA (subscription required) reported that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has basically informed EPA that EPA may not promulgate guidance on cumulative risk assessments because of questions...more
Last month, Judge John Hunderaker held that the Endangered Species Act requires EPA to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service before issuing recommended water quality criteria. ...more
Earlier this week, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated EPA’s disapproval of Montana’s regional haze plan for the PacifiCorp’s Wyodak power plant. The basis for the disapproval was an issue near and dear to my heart. ...more
Yesterday, the plaintiffs prevailed in the Montana climate litigation. Time will tell whether the decision will end up being seen as a watershed moment or just a blip. In trying to answer that question, it does seem worth...more
Greenwire (subscription required) reported this week that the Fish & Wildlife Service Recovery Plan for the Oregon spotted frog estimates that the cost to achieve recovery of the frog will be roughly $2.7 billion over 40...more
Earlier this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed EPA’s NPDES permit issued to San Francisco’s Oceanside sewer system. San Francisco had challenged the permit on the ground that EPA does not have authority to...more
8/3/2023
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Municipalities ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
State Water Boards ,
Storm Water ,
USEPA ,
Water ,
Waters of the United States
The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council recently weighed in on EPA’s decision whether to lower the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5 and ozone.
Specifically, with respect to PM2.5, WHEJAC...more
I’ve posted previously about the importance of extreme heat among the impacts of climate change. Much of the popular literature focuses, rightly, on the public health impacts. Without at all minimizing the public health...more
On July 16, 2023, Climatewire (subscription required) released a peer review letter on EPA’s Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (SC-GHG), which got a fair bit of press last year, because EPA’s metric was $190/ton, even though...more
The Wharf District Council recently released its “District Protection and Resiliency Plan.” My immediate reaction is just a quiet OMG regarding the size of the task. Of course, that’s no excuse for inaction and I found the...more
Last week, the EPA Clean Air Science Advisory Committee provided EPA its review of EPA’s Policy Assessment for the Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone. As expected, CASAC has disagreed with...more
Greenwire (subscription required) reported yesterday that more than 150 wildfires in Quebec have blanketed large swaths of the United States with unhealthy levels of particulate matter. Indeed, as of 9:00 AM on Thursday,...more
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court accepted cert. in Lopez Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which presents a straightforward challenge to the continuing viability of Chevron...more
On Monday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the City of Berkeley ordinance entitled “Prohibition of Natural Gas Infrastructure in New Buildings” was preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The relevant...more
On April 11, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management announced that it has given final approval to the TransWest Express transmission line, a 732-mile project that will move electricity from a large wind farm in Wyoming to an...more
On Thursday, the Office of Management and Budget released proposed revisions to “Circular A-4”. It also released a separate preamble, explaining its thinking and asking for comment on certain identified issues....more
Today, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed for lack of standing claims by a number of states challenging the Biden Administration’s Interim Estimates of the Social Cost of Carbon. The Court had telegraphed this...more
Last week, Inside EPA (subscription required) reported that the Clean Air Science Advisory Committee has pretty much agreed that the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone must be made more stringent. Apparently,...more
On March 14, 2023, EPA proposed to regulate certain PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA proposed Maximum Contaminant Level Goals for PFOA and PFOS of zero. It proposed Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFOA and PFOS of...more
3/16/2023
/ CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals
Last week, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected challenges to EPA’s “Revised Cross-State Air Pollution Update Rule”. The Court found that the Rule was “an appropriate exercise of EPA’s statutory authority”....more
3/13/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Amended Rules ,
Appeals ,
Citizen Suits ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
NAAQS ,
Ozone ,
Pollution Control ,
Statutory Authority
Earlier this month, United States District Court Judge Stephen Wilson held that NL Industries was not liable under CERCLA for air emissions of lead because such emissions did not constitute “disposal” within the meaning of...more
Last week, Judge Donald Malloy vacated the Environmental Assessment for the Bull Mountains Mine No. 1 in central Montana. Judge Malloy had already vacated the EA once; when the 9th Circuit affirmed Judge Malloy’s decision...more
Earlier this week, the decision in Bartell Ranch v. McCullough generally supported the Bureau of Land Management’s review under NEPA and related statutes of a lithium mine near Thacker Pass, Nevada. If approved, Thacker Pass...more