An attempt by environmentalists to limit CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants in Wyoming has failed. The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled against environmentalists last week, as it concluded that CO2 is not "subject to regulation" under the Clean Air Act.
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As the first step in full-blown litigation over EPA's endangerment finding for GHG emissions, a group of agriculture, mining, and energy interests has filed a petition for review with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
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According to a report in The Bismarck Tribune, the state of North Dakota appears prepared to sue Minnesota over a carbon tax that is set to begin in Minnesota in 2012. North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said, “It is very likely that we will be suing the state of Minnesota,” as Minnesota’s PUC is prepared to add a fee of anywhere between $4 and $34 per ton of CO2 to the “cost of electrical generation starting in 2012.”
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The Alston & Bird Energy & Sustainability Litigation Team recently prepared an Energy & Sustainability Litigation Advisory titled “Bombshells in Climate Change Litigation: Two Major New Cases Expose Greenhouse Gas Emitters to Potential Liability.”
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On September 21, 2009, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision that may dramatically shift the liability profile of every entity associated with notable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—potentially including utilities; coal, natural gas, and oil companies; industrial gas users and manufacturers; entities with significant vehicle fleets; and auto manufacturers. In Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co., the court held that federal courts are competent to hear—and states, municipalities, and private entities uniquely vulnerable to climate change may bring—federal public nuisance claims seeking to enjoin the activity of an entity whose activities contribute to climate change.
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In July 2008, a number of environmental groups filed suit against the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board over air permits issued for a coal-fired power plant, alleging, among other things, that state regulators improperly failed to conduct a pollution control analysis for carbon dioxide emissions at the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center before issuing the permits. Earlier this week, Judge Margaret Spencer, a circuit court judge in Richmond, Virginia, ruled in favor of state regulators on the issue, upholding the board’s issuance of the facility's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit despite the absence of a CO2 emissions analysis. The ruling was not all bad news for the environmental groups, however, as the judge tossed out the plant’s maximum achievable control technology (MACT) permit due to an “escape hatch” provision based on mercury emission levels.
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February 6, 2009 2:03 PM | Posted by brittany.summers@alston.com | Topic(s): Litigation
A Texas appeals court ruling last week allows construction of a coal-fired power plant to continue. The court rejected an appeal from environmental groups which argued that the state failed to consider the best technology available to reduce pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Read More
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January 23, 2009 2:11 PM | Posted by brittany.summers@alston.com | Topic(s): Litigation
The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) has sued six federal agencies for failing to respond to its petition proposing regulatory changes aimed to improve the endangered species program and increase consideration of global warming. The CBD originally submitted the petition to seven agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in February 2007. Read More
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California Attorney General Jerry Brown has sued the Department of Interior, the Department of Commerce, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service in an attempt to block revisions to regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Read More
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Last week, a federal judge in Rhode Island ended a challenge by General Motors, Chrysler, and other automobile trade groups attempting to block Rhode Island’s vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards. The automobile industry sought a declaration that the Rhode Island regulations were preempted by less-stringent standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA). The district court judge found that the issues had already been decided in two previous cases in Vermont and California and issued a judgment against the automobile manufacturers and associations.
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