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Now before the Court are the motion for summary judgment filed by Plaintiffs Sierra Club and A Community Voice-Louisiana (“Plaintiffs”) and the cross-motion for summary judgment filed by Defendant Scott Pruit, in his official capacity as the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”). This action addresses whether the EPA’s most recent year-long delay in implementation of formaldehyde emission standards exceeds its statutory authority under the Formaldehyde Standards in Composite Wood Products Act. See 15 U.S.C. §2697 (the “Formaldehyde Act” or the “Act”).

In December 2016, the Department of Energy adopted four energy conservation standards. It posted the standards on its website so the public could review them for errors before publication in the Federal Register. A year has passed since the error-correction process ended. But the Department still has not published the energy standards in the Federal Register, which is preventing the standards from taking effect. This failure is a violation of the Department’s duties under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Therefore, summary judgment is granted to the plaintiffs, and the Department is ordered to publish the standards.

In this action for declaratory and injunctive relief, Conservation Law Foundation (“CLF” or “Plaintiff”) challenges the Secretary of Commerce and the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (collectively, “NMFS” or “Defendants”) ongoing authorization and management of the American lobster fishery and their failure to prevent jeopardy and unlawful takes of endangered North Atlantic right whales (“right whales”) in violation of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), Marine Mammal Protection Act (“MMPA”), and Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). See 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1544; 16 U.S.C. §§ 1361-1389; 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706.

Health, faith, environmental justice and conservation organizations urge EPA Administrator Pruitt to move forward with ozone standards

FOIA Complaint related to FOIA request EPA-HQ-2018-001207 which demands the release of any documents related to unprecedented changes surrounding Freedom of Information Act requests under EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Opening brief challenging the EPA delay of the Chemical Disaster Rule.

Final reply brief on behalf of a coalition of workers, scientists and community members near oil refineries and chemical facilities, to challenge the illegal delay of the Chemical Disaster Rule protections.

The complaint targets 2016 and 2017 oil and gas lease sales held by Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment rulings that the County of Maui violated the Clean Water Act when it discharged pollutants from its wells into the Pacific Ocean, and further finding that the County had fair notice of its violations.

Ocean acidification (OA), the gradual decline in ocean pH and [CO32- ] caused by rising levels of atmospheric CO2, poses a significant threat to coral reef ecosystems, depressing rates of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) production, and enhancing rates of bioerosion and dissolution. As ocean pH and [CO32- ] decline globally, there is increasing emphasis on managing local stressors that can exacerbate the vulnerability of coral reefs to the effects of OA. We show that sustained, nutrient rich, lower pH submarine groundwater discharging onto nearshore coral reefs off west Maui lowers the pH of seawater and exposes corals to nitrate concentrations 50 times higher than ambient. Rates of coral calcification are substantially decreased, and rates of bioerosion are orders of magnitude higher than those observed in coral cores collected in the Pacific under
equivalent low pH conditions but living in oligotrophic waters. Heavier coral 15N values pinpoint not only site-specific eutrophication, but also a sewage nitrogen source enriched in 15N. Our results show that eutrophication of reef seawater by land-based sources of pollution can
Research Article Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans DOI 10.1002/2017JC013264 This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process which may lead to
differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/2017JC013264
 

At the beginning of 2017, we made a commitment to the organization to undertake a number of initiatives to help us move the needle closer to accomplishing our seven primary diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals. This document serves as a year-end assessment of our progress. More specifically, what appears in the subsequent pages is a review of the original objective, a summary of what was accomplished, and a corresponding rating.

2018 Action Plan: Getting to a more diverse, equitable and inclusive environment both inside and outside the doors of Earthjustice.

En camino a un ambiente más diverso, equitativo e incluyente tanto hacia el interior de Earthjustice como afuera de sus puertas.

The Vermilion Power Station is a retired coal-fired power plant located approximately five miles north of the village of Oakwood, Illinois. The plant sits on the west bank of the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River (“Middle Fork”), in a 17-mile section designated as Illinois’ only National Scenic River and first State Scenic River. From the mid-1950s until 2011, the plant burned coal and generated millions of tons of coal combustion residuals (“coal ash”).

In his denial letter, Governor Inslee found that: “When weighing all of the factors considered against the need for and potential benefits of the facility at this location, I believe the record reflects substantial evidence that the project does not meet the broad public interest standard necessary for the Council to recommend site certification.”

Attention: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355, Repeal of Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units

A coalition of wolf advocates today filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s deeply flawed recovery plan for the Mexican gray wolf, one of North America’s most endangered mammals

The Atchafalaya Basin, the largest swamp ecosystem in North America, is one of the nation’s ecological crown jewels.