In a recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Sierra Club v. EPA, Nos. 23-3581/3583 (6th Cir. Dec. 5, 2025), the Court invoked its statutory interpretation authority to hold that EPA contravened the plain language of the Clean Air Act (“CAA”) by redesignating the Detroit area as in attainment with the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (“NAAQS”). Conversely, the Court deferred to EPA’s technical expertise in determining that certain air emissions should be excluded from consideration of the Detroit area’s compliance with the ozone NAAQS because of their qualification as “exceptional events” under the CAA, demonstrating that Courts will continue to defer to agencies’ expertise, but will not defer to agency interpretations of their enabling statutes. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Agency Action, Air, Chevron Deference, Clean Air Act, Emissions, EPA, Hazardous Air Pollutants, Loper Bright, Michigan, Sixth Circuit

On June 6, 2025, the D.C. Circuit ruled in Appalachian Voices et al. v. FERC that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of an extension of the construction deadline for Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC’s (MVP) MVP Southgate Project (the “Southgate Project”) was permissible, denying environmental groups’ petitions for review. This case potentially forecasts future judicial treatment of agency action in the aftermath of the Loper Bright v. Raimondo decision, and signals how courts may treat future challenges aimed at delaying development in light of recent curtailment of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Administrative Appeals, Agency Action, Chevron Deference, D.C. Circuit, FERC, Loper Bright, NEPA, Oil and Gas

On May 29, 2025, the Supreme Court decided Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, reversing the D.C. Circuit’s determination that the Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) issued by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (the “Board”) in connection with an approximately 88-mile railroad line in northeastern Utah violated the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”).  Justice Kavanaugh, writing for the Court, concluded the NEPA question presented “is not close” and the Board was “absolutely correct” in declining to evaluate “environmental effects from separate projects upstream or downstream from the project at issue” in the EIS.    Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Administrative Appeals, Administrative Hearing, Administrative Procedures Act, D.C. Circuit, Decisions of Note, Federal Circuit, Loper Bright, NEPA, Oil and Gas, Pipelines, Railroad, Supreme Court, United States Supreme Court

In Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration, No. 23-1067 (D.C. Cir. Nov. 12, 2024), the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unexpectedly held that, despite nearly fifty years of precedent, the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) lacks the authority to promulgate binding regulations for the purpose of implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Agency Action, Council on Environmental Quality, D.C. Circuit, Loper Bright, NEPA