The Sierra Club sued Dominion Energy under the citizen-suit provision of the Clean Water Act.  Following a bench trial, the district court found that rainwater and groundwater were leaching arsenic from the coal ash in the landfill and settling ponds, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Environmental Judge Paul V. Niemeyer

Rain-induced sediment flows that have overcome Mountain Valley Pipeline’s erosion controls might not recur in the future, especially in light of heightened oversight by state and federal agencies. Therefore, preliminary injunctive relief is not appropriate. Background The Plaintiffs are landowners ...

Tagged with: Environmental Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon Real Estate Real Property Tort U.S. District Court - Western District

Based on thorough analysis by Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality, the state Water Control Board had a sufficient basis to certify reasonable assurance that the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project – and the restrictions and protective measures it included – would ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Environmental Judge William B. Traxler Jr.

Authorizations granted by U.S. Interior Department agencies for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline were arbitrary and capricious, failing to provide required explanations for key aspects of the underlying analysis. Background The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a 600-mile pipeline designed to transport ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Environmental Judge Roger L. Gregory

Congress stripped district courts’ jurisdiction to hear the claims of landowners challenging provisions of the Natural Gas Act, under which Mountain Valley Pipeline obtained administrative approval to begin construction. The district court properly dismissed their suit. Background The Plaintiffs are ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Environmental Judge James A. Wynn Jr.

Under three environmental statutes, the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service improperly approved rights-of-way through federal lands for Mountain Valley Pipeline’s construction and operation of the largest pipeline of its kind to cross the Jefferson National Forest. Background ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Environmental Judge Stephanie Dawn Thacker

Despite past efforts to improve its approach, the Department of Energy’s recommended analysis of economic hardship on small fuel refineries attempting to comply with federal renewable fuel standards is facially flawed. In considering a petition for a small-refinery exemption, the ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Environmental Judge G. Steven Agee

West Point residents stated viable nuisance and trespass claims against a paper mill near their properties. The plaintiffs alleged that wood dust invades the air in their homes and cars, even with windows closed. Background In downtown West Point, Virginia, ...

Tagged with: Environmental Judge John A. Gibney Jr. Real Estate Real Property Tort U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although West Virginia has not promulgated or submitted required pollutant limits for its “biologically impaired” waterways, this failure doesn’t yet amount to a constructive submission of “no limits,” which would trigger EPA duties under the Clean Water Act. Background West ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Environmental Judge Diana Gribbon Motz

Coles, Red, and Minor Terry were held in contempt of court for interfering with the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s use of easements of which it had been granted immediate possession. Red and Minor were given approximately one day to come down ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Eminent Domain Environmental Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon U.S. District Court - Western District