Federal Appeals Court

Natural gas power plant with two tall smokestacks against blue and purple sunset sky

Power Plants: A Win for the EPA

New rules from the US Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants survived an attempt by 25 Republican-led states to block their implementation while their case is litigated.

July 22, 2024 - Irvin Dawid

Aerial view of Fort Martin coal power plant near Morgantown, West Virginia.

Red States Challenge Biden Rules That Threaten Coal Power Plants

The publication in the Federal Register on May 9 of the Environmental Protection Agency's New Source Performance Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from new power plants triggered the filing of 25 lawsuits from Republican-led states.

May 14, 2024 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

EVgo electric car charging station along Interstate 15 in California desert on the route to Las Vegas.

Appeals Court: California Emissions Standards Upheld

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, the nation's two most powerful environmental regulatory agencies, won an important round in federal court last week. But the emissions standards battle may not be over.

April 15, 2024 - San Francisco Chronicle

A red and white tent on the sidewalk with other belongings of an unhoused resident in Miami, Florida.

Supreme Court to Reconsider Martin v. Boise

The justices agreed to hear an appeal from the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, of a 2022 U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that has the potential to loosen restrictions on how nine Western states deal with tent encampments on public property.

January 15, 2024 - San Francisco Chronicle

An oil well in a mountainous and remote part of Utah.

Utah Oil Shale Extraction Dealt Major Setback

The Surface Transportation Board's approval in 2021 of a proposed 85-mile Uinta Basin Railway in Utah that would have enabled increased extraction of the world's largest source of oil shale was partially vacated by a federal appeals court last month.

September 3, 2023 - Progressive Railroading

A close up image of the exterior of the U.S. Capitol Rotunda illuminated at dusk.

Senate Vote Illustrates America's Polarized Response to Pandemic

A Senate joint resolution to roll back the Biden administration's only vaccine mandate to be upheld by the Supreme Court passed on a party-line vote on March 2. In Europe, the legislative branch often needs to approve these measures to become law.

March 7, 2022 - The New York Times

The exterior of the U.S. Supreme Court, with an American flag flying above its large columns and white marble exterior.

Supreme Court: OSHA Exceeded its Public Health Authority

The Supreme Court ruled that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had overreached its authority to protect the health of workers in large private companies. In a separate decision, it upheld a vaccine mandate for most healthcare workers.

January 18, 2022 - The New York Times

A sign on a door says proof of vaccine is required to enter.

Federal Vax-or-Test Mandate for Large Employers Reinstated

Judges of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided, 2-1, to allow the Biden administration's vax-or-test mandate for private sector employers, removing a stay placed on the OSHA rule by the Fifth Circuit. Enforcement begins Feb. 9.

December 22, 2021 - The New York Times

Supreme Court Statue

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds New York State Vaccine Mandate

Health care workers in New York will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 after the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to reject hearing an appeal brought by workers who had sought a religious exemption. Also, an update on the federal vaccine mandate.

December 20, 2021 - The New York Times

Coronavirus

Update: Coronavirus Vaccination Litigation against Biden Administration

The U.S. Justice Department filed its appeal on Nov. 23 before the 6th Circuit Court to reinstate the large private employer vaccination status requirement that the 5th Circuit had stayed after Republican governors and state attorneys general sued.

November 28, 2021 - The Washington Post

Coronavirus Testing

Court: Federal COVID-19 'Vaccine or Test-and-Mask' Mandate 'Fatally Flawed'

The Biden Administration's most sweeping and possibly controversial action to increase COVID vaccinations has been stayed twice by a federal appeals court and is likely headed to the Supreme Court

November 15, 2021 - The New York Times

Cruise Ship

Coronavirus Litigation: CDC Loses Ability to Regulate Cruise Industry in Win for Florida Governor

In a stunning reversal, a federal appeals court panel on July 23 reversed its ruling issued six days earlier in favor of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after Gov. Ron DeSantis appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.

July 27, 2021 - Reuters

Parking Restrictions

Court Ruling: Chalking Tires Amounts to Unconstitutional Search of Vehicle

A unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on April 22 found that the chalking of tires by parking enforcement officers on public streets is a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

April 29, 2019 - The New York Times

Agriculture

Federal Appeals Court Orders EPA to Ban Harmful Pesticide

The ruling puts another stain on former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's legacy as it rebukes his denial of a petition to ban a pesticide that causes neurodevelopmental damage in children. Pruitt had rejected his own scientists' recommendation.

August 14, 2018 - The New York Times

Rural Traffic

Rollback of a Different Kind, Ordered by the EPA, Will Benefit Air Quality

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, acting at the behest of the new acting EPA administrator, will keep Obama-era regulation limiting air pollution from heavy trucks in place.

July 30, 2018 - The New York Times

School Chlidren

A Third Court Win for Children's Climate Change Lawsuit

Strike three for the federal government in trying to dismiss a lawsuit launched by 21 children in Oregon who sued the Obama administration in 2015, claiming the government was endangering their future because of its failure to reduce climate change.

July 30, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Natural Gas

Appeals Court Deals Second Setback to Trump Administration on Methane Regulation

Another unpleasant reminder for the Trump Administration that there are three equal branches of government: A federal appeals court ruled 9-2 that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt must enforce a rule to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas wells.

August 7, 2017 - CNN Politics

Appeals Court Rebuffs Trump's EPA on Methane Emissions Suspension

In a win for the environment, a D.C. Circuit panel ruled that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt could not arbitrarily suspend the starting date of a landmark Obama rule that would reduce methane emissions from new and modified oil and gas wells.

July 6, 2017 - The Washington Post

Pollution 2

Appeals Court Ruling Favors Trump—Strike Two Against Clean Power Plan

An appeals court on Friday granted the Trump Administration's request to suspend lawsuits on the Clean Power Plan, dealing a major blow against President Obama's signature climate initiative to reduce carbon emissions from existing plants.

May 2, 2017 - The Washington Post - Energy and Environment

Protecting the Environment

Breaking News: Supreme Court Rebukes Trump on Clean Water Rule

One of those Obama-era regulations that President Trump promised to ease is the Clean Water Rule, currently tied up in federal appeals court. The Department of Justice had asked the Supreme Court to discontinue the litigation.

April 3, 2017 - E&E News [Subscription]

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