By Jeryl L. Olson, Eric E. Boyd, and Craig B. Simonsen
In a not unexpected final rule issued today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) it has listed the “Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI Nonattainment Area” as marginal nonattainment. 77 Fed. Reg. 34221 (June 11, 2012). The rulemaking promulgates the initial air quality designations for twelve counties in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin…
Continue Reading EPA Designates the Chicagoland Area as Marginal Nonattainment for Ozone
By Jeryl L. Olson, William R. Schubert, and Eric E. Boyd
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule that would reach a new milestone for environmental regulation in the United States: substantive limits on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at the source. The rule would apply to new fossil fuel-burning electric utility generating units…
Continue Reading EPA Proposes Carbon Dioxide Limits for New Power Plants
By Andrew H. Perellis and Ilana R. Morady
On March 21, 2012, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision hugely impacting EPA’s enforcement authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The decision also has strong implications for EPA’s enforcement authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
The issue before the Court was whether two landowners could bring a…
Continue Reading Sackett v. EPA: Supreme Court Decides Unanimously In Favor Of Landowners
By Jeryl J. Olson, Eric E. Boyd, and Craig B. Simonsen
In a September 2, 2011 Presidential statement, President Obama said “after careful consideration, I have requested that Administrator Jackson withdraw the draft Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards at this time. Work is already underway to update a 2006 review of the science that will result…
By Andrew H. Perellis, Eric E. Boyd, and Craig B. Simonsen
Most environmental statutes allow suits challenging actions by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and provide that successful plaintiffs in these actions can receive attorney fees and costs. The U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) recently released an analysis of Environmental Litigation: Cases Against EPA and Associated Costs …
By Andrew Perellis and Ilana Morady
The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari to address the constitutionality of unilateral administrative orders issued by EPA under the Clean Water Act (CWA). These orders, also known as administrative compliance orders (ACOs), require parties to undertake response action when the EPA believes a violation of an environmental statute has occurred. Under the CWA…
Continue Reading Are EPA’s Compliance Orders Unconstitutional?
By Jeryl L. Olson and Eric E. Boyd
The United States Supreme Court today ruled unanimously that the Clean Air Act’s regulation of green house gases (GHGs) “displaces” federal common law public nuisance claims. American Electric Power Company, et al. v. Connecticut, et al., No. 1-174, 564 U.S. ___ ( 2011). The law suits addressed by the Court, begun…
