On January 7, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California held that California’s ban on the sale in California of foie gras–a delicacy made from fattened and force-fed duck liver–was preempted by federal law, namely the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), 21 U.S.C. §§ 451-470. The…
On December 29, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina held that the plaintiffs in a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Clean Water Act (CWA) citizens-suit against the owners and operator of a swine farm had the right to have the case tried…
On January 9, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved a proposed consent decree that had been negotiated by EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that resolved the government’s claims that Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai Motor America, Kia Motors Corporation, Kia Motors America, and…
In addition to the bread and butter federal agency appropriations language in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (the “Act”), enacted late last year, the Act includes a number of provisions affecting environmental regulation, including: The interpretive rule published by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Corps of…
Yesterday, Pillsbury attorneys Matt Morrison and Bryan Stockton published their advisory Three Obstacles to EPA’s O3 Rule: Industry Opposition, Implementation, and Congressional Oversight. The Advisory discusses the EPA’s recent proposal to revise the national air quality standard for ozone, the key pollutant in smog and regional haze, and the complex…
Last week, a divided panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals vacated two provisions of the 2008 ozone standards on the ground that they exceed the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act. The two provisions extended the deadlines for some air quality regions to attain the 2008 ozone…
In May 2012, a catastrophic flood inundated large sections of Nashville, resulting in many lawsuits being filed against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with respect to the Corps’ operation of the Old Hickory Dam. The dam is located on the Cumberland River, and water that flows through this river…
Wednesday, U.S. District Judge David Hittner issued a long (82 pages) and complex ruling rejecting all of the claims for relief requested by Environment Texas Citizen Lobby, Inc. and Sierra Club from ExxonMobil Corporation, ExxonMobil Chemical Company and ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company. In reaching its decision, the Court conducted…
The Texas Supreme Court confirmed that it will hear oral arguments in McGinnes Indus. Maint. Corp. v. The Phoenix Ins. Co., et al., No. 13-20360, case on January 15, 2015. The issue was certified to the Texas Supreme Court by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on June 11, 2014.…
On December 1, 2014, the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (Judge Zainey presiding) issued a ruling in the case of The Parish of Plaquemines v. Total Petrochemical & Refining USA, Inc., et. al. The court granted the motion of the Parish to remand to state…