The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted its stay of EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) on October 23, following the April 29 Supreme Court ruling affirming portions of the rule. The stay was lifted even though the D.C. Circuit is still considering challenges to CSAPR that were not addressed in its prior ruling, or in the Supreme Court case. Because the court did not also toll the January 1, 2015 compliance deadline for the first phase of CSAPR, there is uncertainty as to whether and how soon compliance must be achieved. CSAPR replaced the Bush-era Clean Air Interstate Rule… Read more
Tag: air pollution
Recent Trend in Environmental Litigation: Public Nuisance Cases Against Regulated Entities for Air Pollution
A June 13 ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court highlights a recent trend in environmental litigation: lawsuits against regulated entities asserting state law public nuisance claims for air pollution. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously that the Clean Air Act preempts federal common law nuisance claims against a utility for emissions of greenhouse gases. American Electric Power v. Connecticut, 564 U.S. ___ (2011). Since then, litigants have sued power utilities and other entities with Clean Air Act permits under the state common law of nuisance in various states. In 2010, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the… Read more
States and Electric Utilities Challenge to EPA Greenhouse Gas Permitting Rules Fail
A federal appeals court in the D.C. Circuit dismissed pending lawsuits from states and electric utilities that challenged Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) orders requiring states to update their air pollution plans to address greenhouse gases. “Neither the states’ briefs nor their counsel . . . identified a concrete redressable injury or explained how the states had Article III standing to challenge the rules,” Judge Judith W. Rogers stated. At issue was a series of December 2010 EPA findings that states, such as Texas and Wyoming, must revise their state implementation plans to address greenhouse gas emissions by January 2011. In order… Read more