Summary:  The Environmental Protection Agency is delaying issuing new rules to regulate coal ash, the waste product left from burning coal in power plants. Critics say the agency is unlikely to act until after the elections. In the meantime Earthjustice continues to work to protect the public from toxins associate with coal ash.

Lisa Evans, a senior attorney for Earthjustice, said in a statement, “Lawsuits are changing corporate behavior, but that’s not a safety plan for the nation.”

  Full Article:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/coal-ash-decision-stymied-in-election-year/2012/10/14/1bc6d2cc-0d6f-11e2-bb5e-492c0d30bff6_story.html"

  Summary:  Conservation groups have intervened to define the travel management strategy for Tahoe National Forest. The travel management plan was drawn up by the Forest Service and restricts access to trails illegally made by offroaders, many of which are harming streams and wildlife habitat.

“We already know that off-road vehicles destroy the vegetation, compact the soil, erode the stream beds and threaten the wildlife in sensitive areas of the Tahoe National Forest,” Christopher Hudak, an attorney for Earthjustice, said in a statement. “Now that the Forest Service has taken steps to reduce the damage, we want to make sure these basic protections remain in place.”

  Full Article:  http://www.rgj.com/article/20121003/LIV08/310030141/Conservation-groups-intervene-lawsuit-over-off-road-vehicles-Tahoe-National-Forest"

  Summary:  The delay of the New York State’s decision on allowing the environmentally harmful practice of fracking might lead to better that take into account health impacts, as well as help the state to avoid unnecessary litigation.

Earthjustice’s Managing Attorney Deborah Goldberg told the Shale Gas Review that “public protest over the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) guidelines for issuing shale gas drilling permits and the state’s more formal regulations on fracking had become entangled and confused.” Goldberg added that the new comment period is “hugely important.”

  Full Article:  http://www.ithacaindy.com/2012/09/29/new-york-delay-fracking.html"

  Summary:  Washington Court of Appeals has upheld tough new rules governing polluted storm water runoff in Washington state.

Jan Hasselman, Seattle attorney for Earthjustice, said in a statement that it’s time for Clark County to stop fighting environmental protections. “At some point, there’s going to be some accountability,” Hasselman added. “Our first choice is always to sit down and work out a solution that does the most for the environment.”

  Full Article:  http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/sep/25/county-loses-stormwater-ruling/"