On January 3, 2019, the U.S. Solicitor General filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to grant certiorari in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund to decide the question of whether a "discharge of a pollutant occurs when a pollutant is released through a point source, travels through groundwater, and ultimately migrates to navigable waters." The brief suggests review is warranted to resolve the issue conflicting with the Fourth, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits, as well as the "numerous district courts" that have confronted cases involving claims of unpermitted discharges to waters of the ...
On December 27, EPA proposed to revise the cost finding associated with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) along with the risk and technology review required by the Clean Air Act. (EPA Announcement). The action is taken as a result of a 2015 Supreme Court decision, Michigan v. EPA. The case involved EPA's interpretation of a section of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §7412(n)(1)(A)), which requires the agency to regulate power plants when "appropriate and necessary," The Court held that the agency had interpreted the provision unreasonably when it deemed cost irrelevant to the ...