For most of this century, I’ve been asked with some regularity whether Superfund was dead. I’ve always considered that question to be a victory of hope over expectation. Notwithstanding frequent criticism, frequently deserved,…
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/ Environmental Law, Toxic Torts
Late last month, I noted that the overturning of Chevron did not mean the end of judicial deference to agency expertise. Earlier this week, a decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals provided some confirmation that judicial…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Science, Computers, & Technology
Governor Janet Mills and Maine’s congressional delegation announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $147 million grant to develop the largest long-duration energy storage project in the world to date. The…
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/ Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Science, Computers, & Technology
Greenwire (subscription required) had an article yesterday with the breathless headline “Post-Chevron era tests courts’ readiness to tackle science.” The article noted that, in the recent Supreme Court decision in Ohio v. EPA,…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Science, Computers, & Technology
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…
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/ Administrative Law, Civil Remedies, Environmental Law
Last week, Vermont became the first state to enact a “Climate Superfund” law. As I noted in January, I fear that this will not end well. It seems odd to model a statute on a law frequently given the accolade – deserved, in my…
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/ Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
On Wednesday, the 9th Circuit granted a petition for mandamus from the United States and ordered the District Court to dismiss the complaint in Juliana v. United States. The 9th Circuit had previously ordered the case dismissed…
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/ Civil Procedure, Environmental Law
Last Friday, EPA formally designated perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) – including their salts and structural isomers! – as hazardous substances under CERCLA. I cannot really quarrel with the…
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/ Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
On Tuesday, in Ohio v. EPA, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied several challenges to EPA’s decision to restore California’s authority under § 209(b) of the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions from motor vehicles. It’s…
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/ Conflict of Laws, Environmental Law, Transportation, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
Massachusetts has become the first state to require analysis of cumulative impacts for certain air quality permits in or near communities with environmental justice (EJ) populations. On March 29, 2024, the Massachusetts…
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/ Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
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…
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/ Environmental Law
In 2022, Pennsylvania became the 12th member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”). Pennsylvania joined RGGI pursuant to a 2019 executive order and a subsequent rulemaking promulgated by the state’s Department of…
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/ Civil Procedure, Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
Earlier this month, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals vacated most of EPA’s startup, shutdown, and malfunction SIP Call. The Court’s rationale boils down to EPA’s failure to make a predicate finding that the SIP call…
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/ Civil Procedure, Environmental Law
Last week, in Bristol Asphalt v. Rochester Bituminous Products, the SJC jettisoned two prior decisions and revised its directions to lower courts regarding how to handle “special motions to dismiss” under Massachusetts’…
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/ Civil Procedure, Environmental Law
It is now almost 18 months since Congress enacted the Inflation Reduction Act. One of the IRA’s provisions was an adder to the ITC for renewable energy projects located in an “energy community”. One way to be in an energy…
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/ Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
