By Chris Colyer On April 11, 2018, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2238, which eliminates the judicial doctrine commonly known as “Chevron deference.” One of the most well-known doctrines of administrative law, “Chevron deference” is named after the landmark case Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 468 U.S. 837 (1984). […]
by Chris Colyer The status of a controversial rule establishing more stringent ambient air quality standards for ozone—promulgated by former President Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—remains unclear following a series of developments under the current Trump Administration and the 115th United States Congress. Section 108 of the Clean Air Act requires EPA to identify, […]
by John D. Burnside On February 17, 2017, the U.S. Senate confirmed President Trump’s nominee Scott Pruitt as the new administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Senate confirmation followed weeks of partisan and public attacks against Mr. Pruitt’s fitness to serve as the nation’s chief regulator of clean air, water, and land, as well […]
By Chris Colyer As previously reported here, President-elect Donald Trump’s victory could have profound implications for federal environmental regulation. Although the scope of the intended regulatory changes remains uncertain, President-elect Trump’s recent Cabinet nominations—most notably Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Rick Perry as Secretary of Energy, and Ryan Zinke as Secretary […]
by Chris Colyer The United States Supreme Court ruled today that an approved jurisdictional determination under the Clean Water Act constitutes an immediately appealable agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 500 et seq. This decision, United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., Inc., rejects the United States Army Corps […]
by Chris Colyer Our colleagues, Denise Dragoo and Stephen Smithson, contributed a chapter on United States environmental law for the 2016 International Comparative Legal Guide to Environment and Climate Change Law (13th Ed.). This Guide is used by in-house counsel across the globe to obtain basic familiarity with the different approaches to environmental law and […]
By Chris Colyer On October 1, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule reducing its National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb. This new standard could have far-reaching impacts on states, particularly Arizona, which have limited options to further reduce […]
by Patrick Paul and Chris Colyer On August 27th, the day before it was set to become final, a federal district court in North Dakota halted implementation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s and Army Corps of Engineers’ “Waters of The United States” rule. North Dakota v. U.S. E.P.A., Civ. No. 3:15-cv-59. Arizona and […]
By Chris Colyer and Patrick Paul On August 3, 2015, President Barack Obama and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued their final Clean Power Plan rule, which imposes requirements on states and tribes to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. EPA issued the new rulemaking pursuant to Section 111(d) of the […]
By Chris Colyer The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has announced new and revised rules, effective as of July 2, 2015, regarding agricultural best management practices (BMPs) to reduce particulate matter air emissions in Arizona’s non-attainment areas. The revised rules may be found here. As background, the Clean Air Act requires Arizona to maintain […]