Tuesday, April 28, 2015

California Dump Truck Owners Association V. Mary Nichols

<> California Dump Truck Owners Association V. Mary Nichols - 4/27/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Case No. 13-15175. At issue is whether the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) approval of the regulation as part of California's state implementation plan (SIP) divested the district court of subject matter jurisdiction under the Clean Air Act.
     The Appeals Court ruled that because the court of appeals has exclusive jurisdiction over such challenges pursuant to § 307(b)(1), the district court lacked jurisdiction. Appellees' petition for rehearing and petition for rehearing en banc are denied.

Allen v. The Boeing Co.

<> Allen v. The Boeing Co. - 4/27/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Case No. 15-35162. Plaintiffs sued Boeing and Landau Associates in State court alleging that for over forty years they released toxins into the groundwater around its facility in Auburn, Washington and failed in their investigation and remediation.
     In a dispute over whether State or Federal Court was appropriate the Appeals Court ruled in part, "We hold that Plaintiffs' action does not come within the local single event exception to CAFA, and that, therefore, the district court has federal jurisdiction under CAFA." [Class Action Fairness Act]

Monday, April 27, 2015

Delta Construction Company v. EPA

<> Delta Construction Company v. EPA – 4/24/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, Case No. 11-1428, consolidated with 11-1441, 12-1427 & 13-1076. Petitioners attack the standards on procedural grounds, and an overlapping group challenges EPA's truck standards. The Appeals Court rules that the petitions for review are dismissed.

Monday, April 20, 2015

WildEarth Guardians v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife

<> WildEarth Guardians v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife - 4/17/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, Case No. 12-1508 & 12-1509. Environmental groups assert that the Service violated the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act  when it  conveyed strip of land for the construction of a parkway. 
     The district court affirmed the Service's actions and the Appeals Court affirmed its decision.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Hawkes Co., Inc. v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

<> Hawkes Co., Inc.  v.  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - 4/10/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, Case No. 13-3067. The Corps' issuance of an Approved Jurisdiction Determination that plaintiffs' property constitutes "waters of the United States" within the meaning of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, thereby requiring plaintiffs to obtain a permit to discharge dredged or filled materials into the "navigable waters, was a final agency action for purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act, and the district court erred in dismissing the case for lack of a final agency action.

Coalition for Responsible Regulation, et al., v. EPA

<> Coalition for Responsible Regulation, et al., v. EPA - 4/10/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit, Case No. 09-1322. Order issued that this court's judgment filed June 26, 2012, be amended in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision. See UARG v. EPA, 134 S. Ct. at 2449 (affirming in part and reversing in part).

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Gulf Restoration Network, et al v. Gina McCarthy (USEPA)

<> Gulf Restoration Network, et al v. Gina McCarthy (USEPA) - 4/7/15. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, Case No.13-31214. In the case a group of environmental organizations petitioned the EPA to "use its powers [pursuant to section 1313(c)(4)(B)] to control nitrogen and phosphorous pollution" within the Mississippi River Basin and the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
     The Appeals Court ruled that it had jurisdiction and that U.S. EPA was not required to make a "necessity determination."