On November 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided the case of State of Missouri ex rel. Chris Koster, et al., v. Harris, in which it largely affirmed the lower court’s decision that the States of Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky and Iowa lack standing to…
On November 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided the case of Sherwood, et al. v. Tennessee Valley Authority. The Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s ruling that a complaint filed by many property owners that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) violated the National Environmental Policy…
Our colleagues Jay Silberg and Vince Morgan report on a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) sting operation in Texas during which GAO investigators obtained a radioactive material license in the name of a fictitious business permitting it to purchase dangerous quantities of radioactive material, and the related fallout. The client alert is…
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its “EJ 2020 Action Agenda.” EPA confirms that it will three basic goals: Deepen the environmental justice (“EJ”) practice within EPA programs; Work with it “partners” — other federal agencies and state and local governments — to advance EJ programs; and Demonstrate progress in significant…
On April 8, 2016, the Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, at Austin, issued an important decision interpreting the standard of review that applies to the judicial review of certain administrative enforcement orders issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The case is TCEQ v. Exxon Mobil Corporation,…
Affirming the district court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected claims that the environmental impact statement (EIS) adopted by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency supporting the Regional Plan Update (RPU) failed to comply with the requirements of the Regional Planning Compact between California and Nevada (Compact). The case…
A group of environmental organizations, headed by the Sierra Club, filed a Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen’s lawsuit against the BNSF Railway Company, alleging that the railroad, the only transporter of coal in Washington, illegally discharges coal and coal dust into the waterways of the State of Washington by virtually…
On October 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court and upheld the determination of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The NMFS concluded that two distinct population species of the Pacific bearded seal subspecies –located in the shallow waters of the Artic—were likely…
On October 17, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia granted summary judgment to Murray Energy Corporation, which sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against EPA because it has persistently failed to perform a nondiscretionary duty under Section 321(a) of the Clean Air…
Our latest Environmental Case Law Update highlights a number of significant environmental and administrative law decisions reported in the period of April-September 2106. We hope you find this information to be useful and informative. Photo: Ian Sane, Silver Creek, Taken November 3, 2012 – Creative Commons