Clean Air Act

Category: Clean Air Act

June 30, 2022 • Clean Air Act, Environmental Law Monitor, EPA

Supreme Court Requires Specific Congressional Authorization For Regulations That Give Federal Agencies “Extravagant” Power Over The National Economy

As regular readers of this blog know, we have been keeping tabs on the Supreme Court’s review of West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, a case addressing how broadly executive agencies can interpret the legislation authorizing their activities. Today, the Supreme Court issued its opinion on the matter, holding that the “major questions” doctrine precluded …

June 23, 2022 • Clean Air Act, Emerging Issues, Environmental Law Monitor, EPA

Chevron Deference on Life Support?

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 15 issued a unanimous reversal of a lower appellate court, and in which, ruling against the federal government, struck down a Department of Health and Human Services rule significantly reducing Medicare prescription reimbursements to hospitals traditionally serving low-income patients. Although the 2018 rule did not, on its face, seem …

June 2, 2022 • California, Clean Air Act, Climate Change, Environmental Law Monitor

State tort damages loom for companies plausibly connected to climate change

In April, various California communities moved one step closer to holding energy companies liable for damage to public infrastructure allegedly caused by climate change. The communities claimed this damage occurred due to the companies’ use of and advocacy for fossil fuels despite the companies’ understanding of those fuels’ negative environmental impacts. Local governments argue that …

May 19, 2022 • California, Clean Air Act, Environmental Law Monitor, EPA

California’s Clean Air Act Waiver Targeted in New Lawsuit

Ohio, along with sixteen other states, sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday last week, over its March 14, 2022 decision to reinstate a waiver allowing the nation’s most populous state California, under its Advanced Clean Cars Program, to enact tougher vehicle emission standards than those set by the federal government.[1][2] In 1966, California enacted …

May 5, 2022 • Clean Air Act, Climate Change, Colorado, Environmental Law Monitor, Maryland

Companies Face State Court Claims for Climate Damage After Circuit Courts Hold That Such Claims Are Not “Inherently Federal”

Federal appeals courts in Maryland and Colorado have sent lawsuits seeking to hold energy companies responsible for climate change back to state court even after the U.S. Supreme Court directed the Fourth Circuit to take a second look in the Maryland case. In Maryland, the City of Baltimore seeks millions of dollars in damages for, …

May 5, 2022 • Clean Air Act, Environmental Law Monitor, EPA

EPA Puts Ethanol Back in Play to Keep Gas Prices at Bay

On April 29, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officially suspended the ban on sales of gasoline blends with a higher concentration of ethanol. This suspension came two weeks after President Biden’s vow to lift the ban in order to counteract the increased gas prices attributed to Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. The suspension went into …

April 14, 2022 • Clean Air Act, Environmental Law Monitor, EPA

The Ethanol Waiver for E15 Is Not a Reason to Fill Up

Although ethanol is one of the earliest biotechnologies, it wasn’t until the energy crisis of the 1970s that ethanol was widely used as an additive to gasoline. Back then, concerns about the price of fuel and the impact of leaded gas on the environment led to a search for less expensive and more environmentally friendly …

April 7, 2022 • Clean Air Act, Emissions, Environmental Law Monitor, EPA

SCOTUS to Decide Whether Congress or the EPA has the Power to Regulate Carbon Emissions – Part II

On the heels of oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court, we provide an update to a prior ELM post whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s has the ability to regulate carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants under the Clean Air Act. Various theories abound that the court could depend on to support …

A view of the smoking chimneys of a coal-fired power plant against the backdrop of a dramatic sky with clouds.

February 10, 2022 • Clean Air Act, Environmental Law Monitor, EPA

Mercury No Longer Rising

A decade ago, as part of a concerted effort to reign in industrial pollution, the Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated the mercury and air toxics standards (MATS) pursuant to its authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The purpose, as implied by the title, was to limit the amount of mercury and other toxins …

January 13, 2022 • Clean Air Act, Emerging Issues, Environmental Law Monitor

Ethanol Industry Suffers After Supreme Court Decision Regarding Year-Round E15

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a significant setback to the ethanol industry on Monday, January 10, 2022, when it refused to review a ban stopping the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from allowing the year-round sale of a higher ethanol blend of gasoline. The sale of gasoline with 15% ethanol (E15) is generally banned in …