About a month ago, one of the myriad climate change tort lawsuits brought by state and local governments against major fossil fuel producers was dismissed by a state court judge in Baltimore, Maryland. (These lawsuits have...more
In City of Baltimore v. BP, et al., court holds that nuisance and tort claims are preempted by federal law and beyond the limits of state law....more
A coalition of Republican attorneys general representing 25 states has sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to block a new rule issued by the Biden-Harris administration as part of a suite of standards promulgated...more
On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") finalized four rules to regulate pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. EPA's stated goal was to provide a framework on which power plants can rely for...more
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on April 25, 2024 the prepublication versions of four final rules applicable to fossil fuel–fired power plants. The rules establish carbon dioxide standards for existing...more
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a suite of final rules aimed at reducing contamination, emissions, and discharges from coal- and gas-fired power plants on April 25. This suite of rules includes two...more
Climate litigation against companies is increasing and the stakes are getting higher. Last year saw more headline-making claims being brought against corporations and a slew of important decisions from courts in...more
On January 9, 2024, a Delaware state court judge issued his opinion on the various motions to dismiss filed in the case brought by the State of Delaware against the major fossil fuel companies. (This case is one of...more
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Chair, along with two Subcommittee Chairs, sent a November 13th letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator Michael S. Regan...more
EPA’s long-promised rules for reducing CO2 emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants have now been published. In the proposal, EPA lays out “performance standards” for new natural gas-fired power plants and “emission...more
On May 11, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed rule promulgating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants. The proposal, issued pursuant to Section 111 of the...more
Since 2017, a number of state government entities from cities, counties, and states across the country have gone after fossil fuel companies in court charging them with violating state law by marketing their products as not...more
In the third attempt in less than 10 years, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed rule package (“Proposal”) that would apply strict greenhouse gas emissions standards to the fossil fuel-fired power sector. The...more
Not a day seems to go by in recent weeks without multiple articles and media hits on controversies over gas stoves. Across the U.S., opponents of gas stoves have implemented a coordinated effort by government regulators,...more
The United States Supreme Court recently issued its long-awaited opinion in West Virginia v. EPA, significantly restricting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) authority to combat climate change and regulate carbon...more
On June 30, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot use the Clean Air Act to require fossil fuel power facilities to implement a measure known as "generation shifting" without...more
The Supreme Court decided West Virginia v. EPA on Thursday, June 30, 2022, curbing the power of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants across the country. The...more
On June 29, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an arcane portion of the Clean Air Act (“CAA”), infrequently used by the EPA, could not serve as appropriate delegation of legislative authority to regulate greenhouse gas....more
The Supreme Court severely limited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) asserted authority to regulate greenhouse gases from existing emission sources such as coal-fired power plants. While devastating to EPA's...more
EPA’s latest proposed rule targeting NOx emissions from fossil-fueled electric generating units (EGUs) is a classic study of diminishing returns. It marks the seventh round of NOx controls for the EGU sector since 1990. The...more
Southland air regulators threaten to sue EPA for failure to control federally-regulated emissions sources Bullet - Los Angeles Times - May 10 - The South Coast Air Quality Management District (District), which oversees a...more
The Biden Administration announced on April 12th Executive action to permit year-round sales of E15 motor fuel. The Administration’s decision is described as attempting to: ...more
Sixteen United States Senators submitted a March 9th letter to President Biden asking that he use available administrative authority to permit the year-round sales of E15 motor fuel....more
On August 26, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) sent its proposed rule for setting renewable fuel percentage standards to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for review. The proposed rule is expected...more
In the past four years, state attorneys general or municipalities have brought 21 lawsuits based on state-law claims (e.g., nuisance, trespass, consumer fraud) seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for costs allegedly...more