Fifth Circuit rejects EPA's disapproval of Texas's Flexible Permit Program *

USA - August 16 2012
In the latest case centering on the review of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disapproval of a Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision, on August 13, 2012, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned EPA's disapproval of certain revisions that Texas made to its SIP in the 1990s.

Co-authors: John A. Riley, Christopher C. Thiele.

Dual air permitting scheme in Texas lives on, for now *

USA - July 2 2012
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling on June 26, 2012, upholding the EPA’s various rulemakings regulating greenhouse gases (GHG) is a significant blow to the numerous oil and gas, electric generating, chemical, and refining companies operating in Texas that hoped to see an end to the state’s dual permitting scheme.

Epa's attempt to expand authority over dredge-and-fill permitting rejected *

USA - March 29 2012
On March 23, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) unprecedented attempt to retroactively veto a "dredge-and-fill" permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) under section 404 of the Clean Water Act - a significant win for the coal mining industry.

Co-authors: Christopher C. Thiele.