News & Analysis as of

Environmental Litigation National Ambient Air Quality Standards

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

The D.C. Circuit Vacates Most of EPA’s SSM SIP Call; Generators Breath a Sigh of Relief

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...more

King & Spalding

Key Recent Developments In Environmental Justice Litigation

King & Spalding on

Louisiana remains at the forefront of environmental justice activity. In just four days from January 19 to January 23, 2024, two courts in Louisiana offered interpretations to environmental justice efforts in the State of...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

EPA Lowers the PM2.5 NAAQS: Goldilocks Can Sleep Soundly

On February 7, 2024, EPA finalized a rule lowering the primary annual National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM2.5 to 9.00 ug/m3.  This is a significant reduction from the current 12.00 ug/m3 standard and a victory for...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

It’s More Important for EPA to Ensure that States Are Good Neighbors Than That They are Perfect Neighbors

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

(ACOEL) | American College of Environmental...

Determining Disparate Impacts in Environmental Justice Communities: Does Friends of Buckingham v. State Air Pollution Control...

It has long been recognized that minority and disadvantaged communities are subject to higher levels of pollution than more affluent non-minority areas. This fact is the basis of the need for Environmental Justice to ensure...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

Have I Mentioned that PM2.5 Is Bad For You?

The evidence of the harm resulting from PM2.5 exposures keeps rolling in. Earlier this month, Environmental Research published an article titled “Global mortality from outdoor fine particle pollution generated by fossil fuel...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

EPA’s Ozone NAAQS Decision — Perhaps the Statute Itself Deserves Some of the Blame

On December 23, 2020, EPA formalized its decision to leave the ozone NAAQS unchanged, at 70 ppb. I don’t think that this decision is in the same category of egregiousness as EPA’s recent decision not to reduce the PM2.5...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

EPA Finalizes Decision to Retain the Existing PM2.5 NAAQS — Single Worst Environmental Decision of the Trump Administration?

Yesterday, EPA finalized its decision to retain the existing PM2.5 NAAQS of 12 ug/m3, rejecting substantial scientific evidence that PM2.5 causes significant harm at concentrations below 12 ug/m3. In fact, as noted in one of...more

(ACOEL) | American College of Environmental...

When is risk reduction not a benefit?

EPA filed a status report on October 15 in the slow-moving mercury and air toxics (MATS) litigation, which is now Murray Energy Corp. v. EPA, No. 16-1127 (D.C. Cir., filed April 26, 2016). The case is a challenge to EPA...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

The Other Shoe Drops on Upwind Ozone States

On Tuesday, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals vacated EPA’s “Close-Out Rule,” which basically concluded that upwind states contributing to exceedances of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone in downwind...more

10 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide