On October 23, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency published its final rule known as the Clean Power Plan, a state-centered plan to reduce carbon emissions from fossil-fueled power plants, the single largest source of carbon pollution. The Clean Power Plan, … Continue reading
Category Archives: Air
Hoisted by its own petard: D.C. Circuit finds that EPA’s own regulations prevent the agency’s inconsistent application of a judicial decision
EPA’s controversial practice of declining to apply unfavorable judicial decisions outside of the jurisdictions in which they were issued finally caught up with the agency last week. In Nat’l Envtl. Dev. Ass’n’s Clean Air Project v. EPA, No. 13-1035 (D.C. Cir. May 30, … Continue reading
Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board Accepts Climate Change Petition for Rulemaking
In a previous blog post, we discussed a decision by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court dismissing a petition for review filed by 18-year-old Ashley Funk seeking to require the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to submit her petition for rulemaking to regulate fossil fuel carbon … Continue reading
Third Circuit issues troika of significant environmental law decisions
Someone forgot to tell the Third Circuit that we are nearing the end of August. Instead of binging on Danielle Steel novels at the beach, the court last week was busy turning out not one, not two, but three precedential … Continue reading
Third Circuit dishes up Section 126(b) hors d’ouvre while everyone waits to learn whether a CSAPR entree is on the menu
Late last week, in GenOn REMA, LLC v. EPA, No. 12-1022 (3d Cir., Opinion filed July 12, 2013), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a rule imposing emissions limits and compliance schedules on a single Pennsylvania coal-fired power plant. … Continue reading
Pennsylvania climate change litigation must begin its long journey at the Environmental Hearing Board
Earlier this month, in Funk v. DEP, No. 713 M.D. 2012 (Pa. Cmwlth., Opinion filed July 3, 2013), the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania dismissed a petition for review seeking to require the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to submit a petition for rulemaking to regulate … Continue reading
Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board declines to follow the Sixth Circuit’s lead on air emissions aggregation
Last week, in an appeal filed by an environmental organization, the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) rejected an attempt by the operator of a gas processing plant and several compressor stations (connected to the plant via pipelines) to preclude evidence of the “functional relationship” between the … Continue reading
Clearing the air: settlement reached in Pennsylvania PM2.5 litigation
Late in March, EPA lodged a consent decree with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that brings the agency one step closer to settling a lawsuit with local environmental group Clean Air Council and brings the Pittsburgh … Continue reading