Precon Development Corporation v. US Army Corps of Engineers

<> Precon Development Corporation v. US Army Corps of Engineers - 3/10/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, Case No. 13-2499 (unpublished). In a thirteen-year battle between Precon Development Corporation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about whether the Corps has jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act over Precon's Edinburgh development in Chesapeake, VA.       The Panel said, "This episode involves 4.8 acres of wetlands that Precon wants to fill to build ten homes. The Corps asserted jurisdiction over these wetlands and denied Precon's permit application.2 We previously remanded this case after concluding that the Corps had not provided sufficient evidence to support its jurisdiction. Finding that the Corps has now amassed adequate evidence, we affirm." Corps' jurisdiction over Virginia wetlands upheld by Fourth Circuit - The Fourth Circuit has affirmed a lower court decision that upheld an Army Corps of Engineers' permit denial for a planned development affecting 4.8 acres of wetlands

NRDC v. U.S. EPA

<> NRDC v. U.S. EPA - 3/11/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Case No. 13-70544. In the case environmental groups challenge a rule of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The Panel ruled, ". . .we hold today that EPA reasonably found that § 172(e) contains an ambiguous gap. We also hold that EPA's interpretation of that ambiguity was reasonable – i.e., that the CAA's anti-backsliding provision, allowing for not less stringent alternative controls, applies when air quality standards have been strengthened as well as when they have been relaxed. We deny the petition for review."