Environmental

Recent Posts

U.S. Supreme Court finds that statutory law of CAA displaces Federal common law and state tort law on issue of GHG emissions
Posted on 7 Jul 2011 by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

Several States, a city, and land trusts filed federal common law public nuisance claims against various power companies; they requested that the court set CO2 emission limits. In American Electric Power Co. et al v. Connecticut et al , 2011 U.S. LEXIS... Read More

Clean Water Rule – Inconsistent Application
Posted on 12 Nov 2015 by Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

The final Clean Water Rule redefining “Waters of the United States” was scheduled to go into effect August 28, 2015, [subscribers can access an enhanced version of this rule: lexis.com | Lexis Advance ]. There have been several suits challenging... Read More

EPA Attempts to Expand its Reach and Re-Define Waters of the United States
Posted on 26 Aug 2014 by Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

After substantial time and review, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers proposed its long-anticipated rule-making establishing a new regulatory definition of the term “waters of the... Read More

Cadwalader Clients & Friends Memo: FERC Confirms It Lacks Jurisdiction over Unbundled Renewable Energy Certificate Sales
Posted on 8 May 2012 by Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

On April 20, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") issued an order accepting proposed revisions to the WSPP Agreement addressing sales of renewable energy certificates ("RECs") made pursuant to that agreement. In... Read More

U.S. Supreme Court finds that statutory law of CAA displaces Federal common law and state tort law on issue of GHG emissions
Posted on 7 Jul 2011 by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

Several States, a city, and land trusts filed federal common law public nuisance claims against various power companies; they requested that the court set CO2 emission limits. In American Electric Power Co. et al v. Connecticut et al , 2011 U.S. LEXIS... Read More

Supreme Court finds that FAA does not prohibit a noncontractual third-party from seeking a stay of litigation pending an arbitration if such assertion is permitted under State law
Posted on 15 May 2009 by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

As noted in prior posts, leases of property or premises may contain an arbitration clause. Although not an environmental case, the U.S. Supreme Court in Arthur Andersen LLP et al v. Carlisle et al , 2009 U.S. LEXIS 3463 (5/4/09) addressed recently the... Read More

Administration announces plans for new regulations regarding wetlands, but specifics are lacking for now
Posted on 29 Apr 2011 by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

The Administration has announced that it will propose new regulations to protect wetlands and smaller streams; unfortunately, specifics are lacking at present. The Administration appears to believe that their new regulations will fit within the constraints... Read More

The use of the Alien Tort Statute for toxic torts and environmental harm must now satisfy the threshold test of prudential exhaustion before the case may move forward
Posted on 18 Dec 2008 by Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.

When residents of a foreign country are subject to harm from alleged acts or omissions of entities that also have a presence in the U.S., one of the tools that has traditionally been used to bring a case in a U.S. Federal court is the Alien Tort Statute... Read More