Environmental Law

SCOTUS to review EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gases for power plants

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to consider the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants and other stationary sources. The U.S. Supreme Court accepted six cert petitions on the topic, but agreed to consider just one issue, report SCOTUSblog, USA Today the Los Angeles…

Oct 15, 2013 2:55 PM CDT

NJ couple OKs $1 settlement in eminent domain suit over their lost ocean view

A New Jersey couple has accepted a $1 settlement in their five-year-old lawsuit against the state over the building of a protective sand dune behind their beachfront home. Harvey and Phyllis Karan had contended that the 22-foot high sand dune blocked their panoramic view of the ocean, Reuters reports. The…

Sep 26, 2013 9:15 PM CDT

Judge OKs Christo’s 6-mile, $50M ‘Over the River’ art project as legal battle continues

Finding that a 1,700-page federal environmental review put together by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management adequately considered the environmental risks and planned mitigation measures, a Colorado judge on Thursday gave Christo’s proposed six-mile, $50 million project to drape the Arkansas River with shimmering fabric a green light. However,…

Sep 9, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

Environmental lawyer spends $2M building a home that meets green building certifications

Eric Lemelson’s quest to build a livable home that meets stringent green-building certifications cost about $2 million and lasted through three years of construction. Lemelson’s 3,500 square foot, four-bedroom home is in Oregon wine country, next to one of seven vineyards where he grows the grapes for his winery, the…

Sep 6, 2013 6:39 PM CDT

Feral pork, bullfrog meat, dandelions and more on menu at ‘locavore’ meal targeting invasive species

Environmentalists in Oregon are doing their part to help the state battle invasive animal and plant species that do an estimated $120 billion in damage each year throughout the country. With the help of chefs competing at a recent cook-off event thought up by the Institute for Applied Ecology in…

Sep 4, 2013 5:45 PM CDT

19 ‘right to dry’ states outlaw clothesline bans; is yours among them?

Once upon a time, a clothesline was a standard feature of most back yards. But concern that publicly airing clean laundry attached with clothespins to a rope or wire was unsightly, or obstructed views, or even created a safety risk (strangulation is sometimes cited) led a number of condominium associations…

Aug 14, 2013 8:24 PM CDT

Judge OKs big sale of water from farmers to San Diego County

A Sacramento Superior Court judge has OK’d what is said to be the nation’s largest ever sale of water from farms to cities, granting the wish of farmers from California’s Imperial Valley to sell some of their allotment of the Colorado River’s flow to increasingly thirsty San Diego County, the…

Aug 2, 2013 9:07 PM CDT

It’s for your own good

Remember when you would open your dishwasher and those dishes would sparkle? You might not have experienced that particular euphoria lately because phosphates have been banned from household detergents in 16 states. What is a phosphate? It’s the ingredient that actually gets the dishes clean. Detergent makers don’t want to…

Aug 1, 2013 6:10 AM CDT

Decades after Vietnam War, dealing with Agent Orange is still on US lawmakers’ agenda

Residents of Vietnam, like American soldiers, apparently have been adversely affected by some 20 million gallons of Agent Orange used there by the U.S. Air Force as a defoliant before the Vietnam War ended in 1975. But while the U.S. has spent billions in medical costs and disability benefits concerning…

Jul 24, 2013 9:20 PM CDT

Man ticketed for picking dandelions forced to pay $75 fine

An elderly Chicago area man whose $75 ticket for picking dandelions for food drew international attention was left angry and embarrassed this week after he was forced to pay the fine. John Taris, who lives with his wife on a fixed income, said the fine for foraging in a Cook…

Jul 12, 2013 5:07 PM CDT

Appeals court disqualifies BigLaw firm in big enviro case, says it can’t simply switch sides

Agreeing with a Minnesota trial judge who found a conflict of interest with a former Covington & Burling client could not be waived, a state appeals court has upheld its disqualification of the law firm from representing the state in a big environmental case against 3M Co. Although Covington argued,…

Jul 1, 2013 7:14 PM CDT

How many barrels of oil were spilled in BP’s Gulf well? Judge must decide

The federal judge presiding overseeing the civil bench trial concerning the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is now faced with a problem almost as daunting as the cleanup: He must decide how much crude oil flowed into the sea during the 86 days before the well was…

Jun 28, 2013 7:42 PM CDT

With $1B fee unpaid, plaintiff lawyer who won $18B enviro case is now pro se against Chevron

Attorney Steven Donziger could earn $1 billion, his opposing counsel says, if an $18 billion foreign judgment against Chevron Corp. concerning environmental damage in Ecuador is upheld. Meanwhile, Donziger is unable to afford to pay his own counsel as Chevron continues with a bruising U.S. district court counterattack against the…

May 6, 2013 8:15 PM CDT

Fertilizer explosion caused some $100M in damage; plant had ‘pathetic’ $1M in insurance

As state and federal officials look into an apparent lack of regulatory scrutiny of a Texas fertilizer facility that exploded in a fiery blast last month, killing 15 people and injuring another 200, a further issue has come to the attention of outside lawyers representing victims of the disaster. The…

May 6, 2013 5:15 PM CDT

Could better regulatory enforcement have prevented deadly Texas fertilizer plant explosion?

Updated: As responders continue searching for more survivors in the decimated remains of a Texas fertilizer plant and its surrounding neighborhood after a Wednesday night explosion, authorities have recovered 12 bodies and say more than 200 people were injured by the blast, according to the Associated Press and Fox News.…

Apr 19, 2013 6:02 PM CDT