Energy and Environment MonitorEnvironmental RegulationMingo Logan Appeals Adverse District Court Decision on § 404 Permit “Veto” - AgainJune 18, 2015 Mingo Logan Coal Company obtained a Clean Water Act § 404 permit from the Corps of Engineers in January 2007. The permit authorized fills associated with the Spruce Mine in Logan County, West Virginia. In January 2011, USEPA exercised its authority under CWA § 404(c) and “vetoed” the permit. Mingo Logan challenged the veto in the D.C. District Court, claiming both… EPA Seeks Order From 4th Circuit to Prohibit Discovery by Murray EnergyJune 17, 2015 We have previously reported on Murray Energy’s action against EPA in the Northern District of West Virginia. There, Murray has sued EPA to enforce § 321(a) of the Clean Air Act, which requires EPA to “conduct continuing evaluations” of potential loss or shifts of employment” which may result from the administration or enforcement of the Clean Air Act. Recently, the District… Court Compels EPA to Respond to Murray Energy’s Discovery Requests in WV Clean Air Act CaseJune 12, 2015 In March 2014, Murray Energy sued EPA in West Virginia. Murray claimed EPA had failed to conduct “continuing evaluations of potential loss or shifts of employment which may result from the administration of” the Clean Air Act as required by Section 321(a) of that Act. In particular, Murray claimed EPA had not conducted the required evaluations of the effect of its programs on the coal… Supreme Court Divided Over Industry Challenge To Mercury Air RuleMay 5, 2015 EPA issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (“MATS”) rule under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act in December 2011. That statutory section required EPA to “perform a study of the hazards to public health reasonably anticipated to occur as a result of emissions by electric utility steam generating units” of mercury and other identified pollutants. It also required EPA to study… The “Other” Murray Energy Clean Air Act ChallengeApril 28, 2015 Murray Energy is the lead plaintiff in a well-publicized challenge to EPA’s proposed Clean Power Rule in the D.C. Circuit Court. See In re: Murray Energy Corp. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., No. 14-1112 (D.C. Circuit). But, it is also the only plaintiff in an action against EPA in federal court in Wheeling, West Virginia. There, Murray has claimed that EPA has… WVDEP Issues Order Requiring Additional Reporting From Coal Prep PlantsApril 22, 2015
WVDEP April 2015 Order On April 15, 2015, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) mailed out a generic order to all of the approximately 90 coal preparation plants in West Virginia. The Order requires prep plants to identify all chemical components of the products used at the plant as well as the outlets that could potentially receive these… 2015 WV Legislature Rewrites Aboveground Storage Tank ActApril 16, 2015 In January 2014, a leak of MCHM from a tank farm operated by Freedom Industries entered an intake for a public water system on the Elk River in Charleston, West Virginia. The State Legislature, already in town, responded to public outcry and cobbled together a complicated statutory and regulatory structure for aboveground tanks before adjourning in March 2014. WVDEP, unfamiliar with… Board Affirms Certification Revocation for Water Lab in WVMarch 27, 2015
By order dated March 11, 2015, the West Virginia Environmental Quality Board (“EQB”) affirmed an earlier order by WVDEP revoking a laboratory certification granted to Appalachian Laboratories (“AppLabs”). WVDEP issued the order on October 16, 2014 in response to press accounts that a former employee of AppLabs (John Shelton) had pleaded guilty to diluting or falsifying water samples… EPA Moves to Dismiss Sierra Club Efforts to Rescind State NPDES ProgramsMarch 27, 2015 The Sierra Club and its local partners previously petitioned EPA to withdraw its approval of the NPDES programs in at least Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia—largely over alleged deficiencies by the state agencies in handling coal-related permits. Earlier this year, when EPA did not formally respond to the petitions, the Sierra Club sued EPA in federal courts in Kentucky and West… Federal Court in Pennsylvania Declines to Require Accumulation of Emissions from Non-Contiguous Compressor Stations for CAA PermittingMarch 11, 2015 A federal court in Pennsylvania has ruled that a series of gas compressors used to move gas from wells to larger transmission lines need not be considered a single “source” of air pollution. See Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future v. Ultra Resources, Inc., No. 4: 11-cv-1360. If the eight compressors had been considered a single “source,” then they would likely have been… |
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