SCOTUS Stays Enforcement of EPA's "Good Neighbor" Air Pollution Rule (Updated)
In a 5-4 decision, the male justices side with the state and industry challengers and the female justices side with the Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Law
It's Time To Reform Environmental Litigation
Thanks to the lengthy approval process and special interests surrounding environmental review, it takes far longer to build anything in the United States than in other developed countries.
Is the Clean Water Act Enforced Less Stringently in Battleground States?
A new study suggests political considerations may influence the enforcement of federal environmental law.
Will This Bill Save or Scuttle California's Builder's Remedy?
Plus: Sen. John Fetterman introduces a new zoning reform bill, U.C. Berkeley finally beats the NIMBYs in court, and Austin's unwise "equity overlay."
Did Environmental Groups Drop Challenges to SEC Climate Disclosure Rule Because They Lost the Lottery?
Green groups dropped their suits after the various challenges to the SEC's climate disclosure rule were consolidated in a fairly conservative circuit.
District Court Dismisses Genesis B. Kids Climate Suit Against the EPA
The district court recognizes that the plaintiffs lack standing, but grants them leave to amend.
Are State Law Climate Change Tort Suits Preempted by Federal Law?
A recent panel discussion on whether state and local suits against fossil fuel producers are preempted by federal law (and my arguments for why the answer is "no, they are not").
Ninth Circuit Puts An End to the Kids Climate Case
A unanimous panel orders dismissal of Juliana v. United States, bringing this zombie litigation to a close.
Tarnished Gold: The Endangered Species Act at 50
My article surveying the effectiveness of the ESA is now in print as part of an FIU symposium.
The SEC Conscripts Corporate America in Its New Climate Change Fight
The new reporting rules will force companies to disclose whether they are prioritizing climate change concerns.
DOJ Files Petition for Writ of Mandamus to End Juliana Climate Litigation
The Justice Department is wasting no time seeking to put this zombie litigation out of its misery, and the plaintiffs are not happy about it.
Portland Requires Homeowners Get Permits To Remove Trees Knocked on Their Homes by Winter Storm
In some cases, the city is also requiring homeowners to pay to replace trees that squashed their houses.
Justice Department to Seek Mandamus to End Juliana Litigation (Again)
Will Judge Aiken finally accede to the law and allow this particular climate case to end?
The Strange Disappearance of the Tumamoc Globeberry (Updated)
The Fish and Wildlife Service inexplicably removes a species from its tally of species "delisted" under the Endangered Species Act.
Supreme Court Takes a Pass on Minnesota Climate Change Case
Only one justice indicated any interest in premature consideration of state-law climate change lawsuits.
Teacher's Union Sues to Stop New York Congestion Pricing Plan
The United Federation of Teachers argues that the near-5,000 page environmental report on New York's congestion pricing plan isn't thorough enough.
Federal Court Again Refuses to Dismiss Juliana Climate Case
Judge Aiken's reckless defiance of legal rules is turning the "Kids Climate Case" into a zombie climate case.
The Endangered Species Act at 50: Still Not Recovering Species After All These Years
Claims of the Act's success at recovering imperiled species are vastly overstated, especially on private land.
William Barr Responds on American Petroleum Institute v. Minnesota
The former Attorney General disagrees with me on whether state and local government climate change lawsuits belong in federal court.
D.C. Circuit Rejects Oil Company Attempt to Remove District's Climate Suit to Federal Court
Yet another federal circuit court of appeals rejects energy company removal claims.
Is Climate Change Going Back to the Supreme Court? (Minnesota Edition) [UPDATED]
The justices are considering whether to grant certiorari in Minnesota's lawsuit against energy companies.
Hunter Biden Gets Caught in America's Double War on Drugs and Guns
Plus: A listener asks for the editors’ advice on how to spend his money.
Climate Liberalism in Public Choice
A nice review of Climate Liberalism by Jordan Lofthouse (and a less nice one by Robert Bradley).
New Jersey Files Environmental Lawsuit To Delay Manhattan Congestion Tolls
New York officials have primarily pitched congestion tolls as an easy cash grab for the city's subway system. New Jersey drivers and politicians aren't happy about that.
The Supreme Court Is Not in a 'War on Science'
The Supreme Court is agnostic on questions of science, but clear and resolute on questions of law.
District Court Judge Revives Kids Climate Case
Years after the Ninth Circuit ordered the case dismissed, it is brought back to life with a surprising trial court order.
John Sununu on Boyden Gray's Legal Legacy
C. Boyden Gray was a pivotal figure within the Republican Party on environmental law.
In Sackett v. EPA, the Supreme Court Cuts Back Federal Regulatory Authority Over Wetlands
The Clean Water Act decision was a unanimous win for the Sacketts, and a 5-4 victory for Justice Scalia's 2006 Rapanos v. United States plurality.
Do Conservatives Actually Like RFK Jr., or Do They Just Think He'll Hurt Biden?
Democrats spent tens of millions of dollars last year's midterms meddling in Republican primaries. Republicans may now be borrowing a page from their playbook.
Oil Companies Fail to Convince the Eighth Circuit Climate Cases Should Be Removed to Federal Court (Updated)
The Eighth Circuit joins the First, Third, Fourth, Ninth, and Tenth in rejecting the arguments for removal, but Judge David Stras writes an interesting concurrence.
Can a Federal Court Vacate a Regulation Without First Concluding It Was Unlawful?
A Ninth Circuit opinion concludes that when a federal agency seeks a voluntary remand of a contested rule, that is not enough to vacate the regulation.
The Supreme Court Case That Could Upend the Clean Water Act
If SCOTUS finds in favor of a small-town Idaho couple in Sackett v. EPA, it could end the federal government's jurisdiction over millions of acres of land.
California's Landmark Environmental Law Finally Comes for the Legislature Itself
Golden State lawmakers have refused to fix the California Environmental Quality Act. Now it could cost them a brand new office building.
Would a Carbon Tax Kill Jobs?
A new study examines what happened in British Columbia, while a second looks at how to ensure "revenue neutrality."
Napa Valley Winery Sues Napa County Over Arcane Environmental Rules
Hundred Acre's lawsuit alleges heavy-handed and extralegal enforcement by county environmental regulators.
Tennessee Snail Darter No Longer a Threatened Species
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has declared that the little fish that almost stopped completion of the Tellico Dam has recovered.
The Sackett Oral Argument and the Problem of Defining "Waters of the United States"
The justices wrestled with the problem of identifying a clear, coherent, and administrable definition to constrain federal regulatory jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.
Will Sackett v. EPA Clarify the Scope of Federal Regulatory Jurisdiction Over Wetlands?
Ten years after their unanimous Supreme Court victory against the Environmental Protection Agency, the Sacketts return to One First Street for another round.
Third Circuit Rejects Oil Company Efforts to Remove Climate Claims to Federal Court
Five Circuits have considered, and rejected, fossil fuel efforts to get state-law tort and nuisance claims removed to federal court. Will their luck change in the Supreme Court?
WV v. EPA: Some Answers about Major Questions (But Not All the Answers We Need)
My forthcoming article the good, the bad, and the likely implications of the Supreme Court's decision West Virginia v. EPA
Supreme Court Rejects Broad EPA Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gases from Power Plants (Updated)
Chief Justice Roberts writes for a six-justice majority in West Virginia v. EPA.
Environmental Protection Agency
EPA Pushes Back Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Regulations While Awaiting Supreme Court Ruling
No matter how the Supreme Court rules in West Virginia v. EPA, absent legislative action it is unlikely new power plant rules will be in force before 2024.
Environmentalists' Lawsuit Brings Minneapolis' YIMBY Success Story to a Screeching Halt
Three environmentalists groups had argued that the city failed to perform a state-required environmental analysis of its Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan.
New York Puts Bitcoin Mining in the Crosshairs
It’s one of many anti-cryptocurrency policies emanating from the Empire State
California Court Rules Bees Qualify as "Fish" Under the State's Endangered Species Act
The ruling is not as ridiculous as it sounds. But it's still a fishy decision!
A Bee May Be A Fish (At Least in California) [Updated]
A state court rules that bumble bees may qualify as "fish" under the California Endangered Species Act
California NIMBYs Are Ruining U.C. Berkeley. Stop Them Before They Kill Again.
A California Supreme Court decision freezing enrollment at the state's flagship university is focusing the public's fury on the normally obscure, but incredibly consequential, California Environmental Quality Act.
