The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday designated "forever chemicals" that have been used in cookware, carpets and firefighting foams as hazardous substances, clearing the way for quicker cleanup of the group of toxic compounds known as PFAS.
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Ruling could dampen government efforts to rein in Big Tech
The Supreme Court's latest climate change ruling could dampen efforts by federal agencies to rein in the tech industry, which went largely unregulated for decades as the government tried to catch up to changes wrought by the internet.
Read More »Supreme Court limits EPA in curbing power plant emissions
In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court decided Thursday to limit how the nation's main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants.
Read More »Justices wrestle with EPA power to curb carbon emissions
The Supreme Court wrestled Monday with the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to curb greenhouse gas emissions from the nation's power plants, a case that could hamstring the Biden administration's plans to combat climate change.
Read More »High court expands eligibility for Clean Air Act exemption
The Supreme Court on Friday said an expanded number of small refineries can seek an exemption from certain renewable fuel requirements.
Read More »7th Circuit: Railroad company’s claims within scope of indemnification clause
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a railroad company is responsible for paying the bill for cleaning up contamination in a park on Lake Superior.
Read More »Trump looks to scale back environmental reviews for projects
President Donald Trump is expected to announce a new federal rule to speed up the environmental review process for proposed highways, gas pipelines and other major infrastructure, a move that critics are describing as the dismantling of a 50-year-old environmental protection law.
Read More »EPA settles lawsuit over hazardous waste near Franklin landfill
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with the garbage-disposal giant Waste Management of Wisconsin, Inc. over allegedly illegal hazardous-waste practices at a landfill in Franklin. The proposed settlement, announced on Thursday, calls for increased monitoring for hazardous waste near the Metro Recycling and Disposal Facility in Franklin and a $232,000 fine to resolve alleged violations of the Resource Conservation and ...
Read More »Kaul joins call for withdrawal of loosened environmental review of infrastructure projects
Attorney General Josh Kaul has joined a coalition of state attorneys general calling for President Donald Trump to withdraw an executive order that allows federal agencies to avoid full compliance with environmental laws on infrastructure projects.
Read More »Menominee tribe loses appeal over Back Forty mine permit
By Michaela Paukner [email protected] Despite acknowledging that federal agencies had given the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin a “runaround”, a federal appeals court ruled against the tribe this week in a lawsuit over a permit for the Back Forty mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Aquila Resources would operate the open-pit ore mine on 83 acres by the Menominee River near Michigan’s ...
Read More »Wisconsin joins emissions-standards lawsuit against EPA
Wisconsin is suing the Environmental Protection Agency to protect states' ability to adopt emissions standards that are stricter than those set at the national level. Attorney General Josh Kaul joined a coalition of 23 other states and three cities in the lawsuit Friday.
Read More »Wisconsin withdraws from lawsuit challenging EPA plan
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul has successfully withdrawn Wisconsin from a multistate lawsuit challenging a federal rule regulating certain air pollutants, including mercury.
Read More »Families take step toward suing EPA for toxic paint stripper
The mothers of two men killed by a toxic paint stripper have taken a first step toward suing the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to take quick action to remove the product from the market.
Read More »Bayer officials vague on lawsuit strategy, despite liability
It has been nearly three weeks since the merger between Bayer AG and Monsanto officially began, about two months since the deal closed and nearly two years since the planned deal was announced.
Read More »15 states appeal EPA delay of stricter air-quality standards
Attorneys general from 15 states filed a legal challenge on Tuesday over the Trump administration’s delay of Obama-administration rules reducing emissions of smog-causing air pollutants.
Read More »Appeals court blocks EPA water rule
A federal appeals court on Friday blocked an Obama administration rule that attempts to clarify which small streams, wetlands and other waterways the government can shield from pollution and development.
Read More »Appeals court rejects challenge to clean air rule
By Pete Yost Associated Press Washington — A federal appeals court has rejected a challenge to a tough new clean air requirement limiting sulfur dioxide emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency regulation is designed to prevent people with asthma from exposure to short-term bursts of sulfur dioxide. Several corporations and industrial associations along with several states argued the new level is ...
Read More »Wis. utility to pay millions to settle EPA lawsuit (UPDATE)
A western Wisconsin utility has agreed to spend nearly $156 million to settle allegations two of its coal-fired power plants were illegally polluting the air, federal environmental officials announced Friday.
Read More »Court sides with property owners over EPA
The Supreme Court has unanimously sided with Idaho property owners whose plans to build a home were blocked by an Environmental Protection Agency order declaring the property contained wetlands.
Read More »Woman wins small-claims suit over Honda hybrid mpg
A Southern California woman who challenged the legal status-quo by filing a small-claims action against Honda won her lawsuit Wednesday when a judge ruled that the automaker misled her about the potential fuel economy of her hybrid car.
Read More »US court rejects challenge to EPA ballast permit (UPDATE)
By JOHN FLESHER AP Environmental Writer TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A federal appeals court has refused to prohibit states from being tougher than the federal government on ships that discharge ballast water, a leading culprit in the spread of invasive species such as zebra and quagga mussels in U.S. coastal waterways and the Great Lakes. The ruling by the ...
Read More »Who reigned Supreme? Experts debate if U.S. Supreme Court term was pro-business or pro-plaintiff
BOSTON, MA — Each June when the U.S. Supreme Court wraps up its term, the same question is asked in legal circles: who won more – businesses or plaintiffs? While typically neither business leaders nor trial lawyers are known for passing on an opportunity to celebrate success, a funny thing happened this year: no one did a victory lap. Instead, ...
Read More »US Supreme Court casts doubt on global warming suit
By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press Washington (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared deeply skeptical Tuesday about allowing states to sue electric utilities to force cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Both conservative and liberal justices questioned whether a federal judge could deal with the complex issue of global warming, a topic they suggested was better left to Congress ...
Read More »New climate change case headed to Supreme Court
By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration and environmental interests generally agree that global warming is a threat that must be dealt with. But they’re on opposite sides of a Supreme Court case over the ability of states and groups such as the Audubon Society that want to sue large electric utilities and force power plants ...
Read More »Supreme Court limits DNR’s power
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court says the state does not have the authority to determine whether state-issued water pollution permits comply with federal law. The court’s 5-2 ruling Wednesday comes in the case of environmentalists who argued a permit was improperly issued in 2005 to Georgia-Pacific’s Broadway Mill in Green Bay. According to the court, the state ...
Read More »Menasha enters into consent decree over River Street Power Plant
The city of Menasha has entered into a consent decree with the Sierra Club and several government agencies regarding its operation of the River Street Power Plant. The plant was voluntarily closed in October 2009 because of the air pollution. The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources joined the Sierra Club in the federal lawsuit ...
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