Litigation
EPA’s Return to Bush-Era Clean Air Act Reforms Sacrifices Agency’s Duty to Protect Environment, Ignores the Law
Quiet changes buried behind the big de-regulatory headlines spell disaster for the environment
As I explained back in August, the Trump Administration’s proposed Clean Power Plan replacement (the “Affordable Clean Energy” or ACE rule) came with a significant change to how the EPA has traditionally interpreted the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review (NSR) provisions mandating pre-construction environmental review and the installation of air pollution controls to offset …
CONTINUE READINGTrump’s Theory of Law
He probably doesn’t know he has a theory, but he does. It’s shaping his deregulatory agenda..
OK, using the word “theory” in connection with Trump may seem like a stretch. But he does seem to have an implicit theory of law, which helps explain a lot of his approach to regulatory change. He’s also an intuitive believer in a strong form of the unitary executive. Theories of law can be classified …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Year Ahead
Here’s what to expect environmentally.
What are the key things to watch for in 2019 in the environmental area? Regulations. According to the Administration’s schedule, three big rules should be issued in March: repeal of the Waters of the United States rule (WOTUS), repeal and replacement of the Clean Power Plan, and the freeze on fuel efficiency standards. This seems …
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CONTINUE READINGTwo Years and Counting: Trump at Mid-Term
Trump has been in office for nearly two years. Where do things stand?
In September 2017 – that seems so long ago! — Eric Biber and I released a report assessing the state of play in environmental issues 200 days into the Trump Administration, based on an earlier series of blog posts. As we end Trump’s second year, it’s time to bring that assessment up to date. This is the …
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CONTINUE READINGSupreme Court Issues Narrow Decision in Dusky Gopher Frog Case, Leaving Key Questions About the Scope of Critical Habitat Unresolved for Now
Fifth Circuit Must Now Review Whether Designated Critical Habitat is “Habitat,” & Whether Agency’s Assessment of Costs and Benefits of Critical Habitat Designation Was Arbitrary
The U.S. Supreme Court filed its opinion in Weyerhaeuser v. U.S. Fish and WIldlife Service today. I’ve posted about this case previously here (when our clinic filed its brief on behalf of preeminent scientists) and here (on the day of the oral argument in the case). (Note that this blog post, like all my posts on this …
CONTINUE READINGDoes the New National Climate Assessment Hurt the Trump Administration in Court?
The Report Could Affect a Number of Cases
The newly released Fourth National Climate Assessment is a bombshell. It catalogues, in excruciating detail, the dire health, economic, and environmental consequences of unchecked climate change on every region of the United States. And although the Trump Administration appears to have tried to minimize the report’s political and public impact by dropping it on Black …
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CONTINUE READINGNetherlands Government Appeals Historic Climate Change Ruling
The Dutch Supreme Court will decide whether the government is obligated to cut emissions more
Last month, an appeals court in the the Netherlands upheld a lower court’s ruling that the Dutch government is legally obligated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions more aggressively. This drew much international attention, as well as praise from environmental advocacy organizations. As expected, the government has announced that it will appeal this decision in the Urgenda …
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CONTINUE READINGAn Ax, Not a Scalpel
Trump’s “take no prisoner’s” deregulatory strategy carries big litigation risks.
Some people, it would seem, prefer using an ax to a scalpel. That’s the Trump Administration. That strategy can be a great way to cut down a tree, but it doesn’t work so well for surgery. And there’s always the chance of cutting off your own foot. In many environmental domains, the Administration seems set …
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CONTINUE READINGSessions Out, Whitaker In: What Might the DOJ Shakeup Mean for Environmental Enforcement?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
News broke this afternoon that Trump has forced Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III to resign — naming Sessions’ chief of staff, the Marbury v. Madison critic and sports take tweeter Matthew Whitaker acting AG. This move obviously has some pretty horrifying implications for the country at large, but it’s worth thinking about how the …
CONTINUE READINGWhat to Make of Chief Justice Roberts’ Stay of the Juliana Case
It’s only temporary but stay tuned
Last Friday, as Rick Frank previously blogged, Chief Justice Roberts put a temporary halt to the Juliana v. United States trial –the Juliana case was brought by a group of children alleging that the United States has violated the public trust doctrine and various provisions of the US. Constitution in failing to protect them from the ravages …
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