Legal Action
One step almost forward, two steps definitely backward – EPA pulls a fast one
On July 27, just weeks after the court indicated its inclination to rule in favor of the public interest in ALERT’s lawsuit on rules governing dispersant use, the EPA split its long-delayed final rule in two. The result is a further delay of the rules governing dispersant use while rushing ahead with a rule to monitor…
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EPA pulls a fast one – Issues final rule on monitoring of “atypical dispersant use”
A federal district court ruled in favor of the public interest by ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update its decades-old regulations on the use of toxic chemical dispersants in oil spill responses. Specifically, the court ruled that EPA now has a mandatory “duty to update the NCP when there is…
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Judge leans in favor of ALERT at hearing on summary judgment
EPA files its opposition to ALERT’s MSJ and its own Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment May 20, 2021. In this dual-purpose filing, EPA first countered, and then asked the Court to deny, the plaintiffs’ requests for summary judgment on our unreasonable delay claim and our injunctive relief. Then EPA asked the court for summary judgment in…
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ALERT files Motion for Summary Judgment
April 20, 2021. ALERT asked the court for summary judgment in our favor on the matter of the EPA’s unreasonable delay over finalizing rules governing dispersant use. We are also asking for injunctive relief – a Court order – to issue a proposed new rule within 90 days of the Court order, with the hope that EPA…
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Court Rejects Reconsideration: Stays the Course
September 1, 2020. The District Court rejected EPA’s motion to reconsider its motion to dismiss the court’s earlier landmark ruling that required EPA to keep the nation’s oil spill response plans current and effective. In the September ruling, the Judge wrote that “EPA’s arguments amount to an improper repetition of the arguments that it made…
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EPA stalls case
EPA filed a motion requesting that Judge Orrick reconsider his reasoned ruling on our Clean Water Act claim. EPA claimed that the Judge did not specifically address various issues it raised in its motion to dismiss our case. However, the Judge’s written opinion and the hearing transcripts both show that these issues were in…
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NOLA: ‘Game-changer’ ruling could restrict chemical dispersants on next big oil spill
Read the story at Nola.com
Read MoreInsideEPA: District Court Says Water Law Requires EPA To Update Oil Spill Rules.
According to Inside EPA, “A federal court in California has agreed with environmentalists that EPA has a nondiscretionary duty under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to update its rules governing oil spills in order to better regulate dispersants, relying in part on a landmark appellate decision that found EPA had unduly delayed updating its lead…
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The Hill: Court says EPA must update its offshore oil spill response plan
Read the story at TheHill.com
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ALERT v. EPA makes law! Ruling a “game-changer”
June 2, 2020. U.S. Magistrate Judge William Orrick ruled that the Clean Water Act requires the EPA to keep the nation’s oil spill response plans current and effective. New research has linked chemical dispersants, heavily used during the 2010 BP spill response, with long-term illnesses in humans and wildlife. The EPA has failed to consider…
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