It has been one year since the Clean Power Plan was published in the Federal Register, and the oral arguments for the rule in the D.C. Circuit have been concluded for about a month now. In this relative “calm before the storm,” as we wait for the D.C. Circuit decision, the 2016 Presidential Election, and the … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd., addressed whether, “[w]hen a smelter emits lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury compounds through a smokestack and those compounds contaminate land or water downwind, . . . the owner-operator of the smelter [can] be held liable for cleanup costs and natural resource damages under … Continue Reading
As the result of a joint rulemaking effort, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (US EPA) Office of Transportation and Air Quality and the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finalized new standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and their engines on August 16, 2016. Included among the types of vehicles affected by … Continue Reading
Following a referendum which has polarised the nation, the people of the UK have voted to leave the European Union. Stepping away from the political rhetoric and posturing, it is worth reflecting on some of the more practical issues which will arise from this decision, such as how it could affect our environmental law landscape. … Continue Reading
With US EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel–fired electric generation still hotly contested in the D.C. Circuit, US EPA is proceeding with the next step in its implementation of the White House’s Climate Action Plan by moving forward with additional greenhouse gas regulations, this time of the nation’s oil and gas infrastructure. … Continue Reading
Australia’s goal to decrease its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 26-28% by 2030 is a direct result of the Paris Climate Conference in 2015. This commitment will be partially executed through the existing Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF). The ERF is a voluntary scheme introduced by the Australian Government (Government) that incentivises individuals and businesses to … Continue Reading
The Clean Power Plan and its surrounding litigation has quickly become one of the hottest topics both inside and outside the legal world. News that the U.S. Supreme Court had granted a stay of the Clean Power Plan on February 9, 2016 spread like wildfire, but many recent followers are unaware of just how long and polemic … Continue Reading
The topic of the moment in the UK is whether Brexit will be a good or a bad thing for the UK, and it seems to be polarising the nation. Stepping away from the political rhetoric and posturing, it is worth reflecting on some of the more practical issues arising from a UK exit from … Continue Reading
On February 9, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of the Clean Power Plan requested by 29 states and state agencies, coal companies, utilities, and several trade associations. News of the order granting the stay spread like wildfire across the nation, having become a top news story overnight. The road to the historic … Continue Reading
On December 15, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected challenges by energy industry groups and several states that are seeking to scrap US EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (“MATS”) final rule. White Stallion Energy Center, LLC v. EPA, Case No. 12-1100. The Court remanded the rule to US EPA for … Continue Reading
On September 29, 2015, US EPA issued a final rule for the regulation of emissions from the nation’s 142 petroleum refinery operations (the “Refinery Rule”). The regulatory structure underlying the rule is complex, but essentially includes both a “residual risk review” to assess the risk to public health, and a “technology review” where, as the … Continue Reading
At long last, US EPA officially published the Clean Power Plan (CPP) this morning in the Federal Register, 82 days after releasing a copy of the signed final rule on August 3, 2015. Publication of the rule has been covered extensively by our team in previous posts here and here. Official publication of the rule has been met … Continue Reading
On October 1, US EPA issued much-anticipated final rule revisions intended to tighten the ground-level ozone (O3) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). US EPA will set the primary ozone NAAQS at 70 parts per billion (ppb). This new standard significantly lowers the existing 75 ppb standard set in 2008. This will push portions of the … Continue Reading
As part of the Obama administration’s recent aggressive pursuit of greenhouse gas emissions reductions under President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, EPA is proposing to amend new source performance standards (NSPS) to include standards for reducing methane emissions for the oil and natural gas source category under the Clean Air Act. The proposal signed on August … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, in May 2015 US EPA issued a direct final rule allowing for the rescission of certain preconstruction (“PSD”) permits issued by US EPA and delegating permit review authority to states under Step 2 of the Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) Tailoring Rule. Step 2 of the Tailoring Rule set in motion PSD permitting for “GHG-only” sources, meaning sources permitted solely … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the Obama Administration released the final version of the Clean Power Plan (CPP), an effort to curb carbon emissions nationwide. The final rule uses a combination of renewable energy and significant limitations on carbon emitting plants to achieve this goal. It is worth noting that the overall reductions required by the final rule were increased … Continue Reading
On July 28, 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit remanded part of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) to USEPA for reconsideration, finding that the Agency had erred in 2014 sulfur dioxide and ozone budgets for 13 states. The next opportunity to influence outcome will be US EPA’s rulemaking process for re-setting … Continue Reading
Introduction Five years after originally consulting the public, the Law Commission has recently published its report on reforming the common law criminal offences of public nuisance and outraging public decency. This note focuses on the proposed reforms to the offence of public nuisance. Public nuisance is unusual in so far as it is both a … Continue Reading
On April 8, 2015, a coalition of nine environmental organizations from California, Louisiana, Oregon and Ohio filed a Clean Air Act (CAA) citizen suit against US EPA in the District of Columbia alleging US EPA failed to “review, and revise as necessary” air toxics standards for 21 source categories under CAA § 112(d)(6). The environmental organizations also allege US … Continue Reading
As we reported last summer, the US Supreme Court ruled that US EPA lacked authority to impose Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) on facilities based solely on their emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Since that decision there have been many questions about how sources of GHG … Continue Reading
On May 1, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit vacated the EPA emission standard exemptions for emergency reciprocating internal combustion engines that operate up to 100 hours a year for “emergency demand response.” Delaware Dep’t of Nat. Resources & Envtl. Control v. EPA, No. 13-1093 (May 1, 2015). The exemption … Continue Reading
On April 20, 2015, EPA revised AP-42 emission factors for equipment found in refineries, chemical plants, and miscellaneous sources, substantially increasing the estimated emissions produced by equipment from these industry categories. The emission factors, which were last updated in 1991, were revised as a result of litigation brought by environmental groups that asserted that EPA had … Continue Reading
Recently, the US Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) published its report Truth In Regulating: Restoring Transparency to EPA Rulemaking, criticizing EPA for not providing critical details about the regulatory intent and true costs associated with significant Agency rulemakings. The Chamber report follows on the heels of last week’s passage of H.R. 1029, the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform … Continue Reading
The US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington recently held in Anderson v. Teck Metals, Ltd. that CERCLA displaces federal common law claims for public nuisance based upon the standard for displacement set out by the US Supreme Court in American Elec. Power Co., Inc. v. Connecticut and the Ninth Circuit in Native Village of Kivalina v. Exxon … Continue Reading
