Three individuals and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Inclusive Louisiana (collectively “LBB”) filed a December 12th Petition to Object (“Petition”) to a Clean Air Act Title V permit issued by the Louisiana Department of...more
The Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a November 2nd Order (“Order”) granting in part and denying in part a Petition objecting to the issuance of a Clean Air Act Title V...more
A New York Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) issued a decision (Ruling on Issues and Party Status [“Decisions”]) upholding the State of New York Department of Conservation (“NYDEC”) decision to deny a Clean Air Act Title V...more
Five environmental organizations filed a Petition (“Petition”) requesting that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator object to the issuance of Title V Renewal Permits (“Permits”) for the...more
The Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a June 7th Order granting a Petition objecting to the issuance of a Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit (“Permit”) to the Colver Power...more
A United States District Court (D. Colorado) (“Court”) addressed in a September 30th Order an issue arising in a Clean Air Act citizen suit related to a coal mine. See WildEarth Guardians, et al. v. Mountain Coal Company, and...more
Earlier this week, on April 30, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quietly modified its source determination test that is used to determine whether emissions from nearby and closely related sources should be...more
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Assistant Administrator William L. Wehrum addressed in an April 30th letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection the question of whether: . . . emissions...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued an April 2nd Order denying a Petition of Objection to a Clean Air Act Title V Permit for Yuhuang Chemical, Inc., methanol plant (“Plant”) in St. James Parish,...more
Since 1995, EPA has followed a policy that any air emissions source that emits one or more hazardous air pollutants (“HAPs”) above major source emissions thresholds is always considered a major source of HAPs. This is so even...more
The Trump Administration released the Fall edition of the semi-annual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions and the Regulatory Plan (“Plan”). Federal agencies twice a year produce in combination a...more
In the United States, the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) requires all “major sources” of air pollution, such as power plants, refineries and other large industrial facilities, to obtain permits detailing the conditions under...more
A 2015 EPA rulemaking required 36 states to revise their State Implementation Plans (“SIPs”) to eliminate provisions exempting air emission exceedances during periods of startup, shutdown, or malfunction (the “SSM SIP Call...more
Time to Pay More: EPA Increases Maximum Civil Penalties - Remember the days when the maximum civil penalty EPA could assess for a violation of environmental law was $25,000 per day? Those days disappeared 26 years ago...more
On Monday, June 22, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a much anticipated decision in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. Environmental Protection Agency where it affirmed EPA’s authority to impose limits for greenhouse gas (GHG)...more
Focus: Supreme Court upholds EPA's power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from large stationary sources – but scolds EPA for overreaching in its regulatory approach - Allen Matkins - Jun 24: On...more
Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) June 2, 2014 revelation of its Clean Power Plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions from existing fossil-fuel powered electric generators (the “Plan”), it has garnered much...more
The last few weeks have brought significant developments in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. On June 18, 2014, the EPA published for public comment a proposed...more
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on Monday, June 23, 2014, which upheld the authority of EPA to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act (CAA), but with limitations. The Court held that EPA may require permits...more
On Monday, June 23, in a long-awaited decision, the U.S. Supreme Court in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. Environmental Protection Agency partially invalidated and partially upheld U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA")...more
In 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency, acting under the Clean Air Act, required all new sources that would emit more than threshold quantities of “greenhouse gases” to get a preconstruction “prevention of significant...more
On Monday, the Supreme Court’s decision in Utility Air Regulatory Group v EPA, No. 12–1146 (June 23, 2013) limited EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases (“GHGs”) under the Clean Air Act, reversing in part and affirming...more
The Supreme Court affirmed EPA’s authority to subject 83% of greenhouse gas emissions to its PSD and Title V Operating Permit programs. However, EPA’s rationale for the rule did not fare so well, and EPA does not have...more
Today, a divided Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated Clean Air Act (the “Act”) decision in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA. In an opinion authored by Justice Scalia, the Court rejected EPA’s application of the Act...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a stunner with its decision this morning in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. Environmental Protection Agency. The Supreme Court has curtailed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s...more