Energy & Environmental Law - The Indiana Lawyer

Harrell and Lucas: CPP vs. ACE — A case study of administrative ‘parenting styles’

September 4, 2018

Most of us can recall when our caretakers made different parenting choices to achieve similar outcomes. Some embraced “tough love” where discipline and strictness set expectations. Others used gentler encouragement and allowed broader autonomy. Those parenting styles — the “tough” versus the “flexible” parent — are apt frameworks for comparing the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP) and the Trump-era Affordable Clean Energy rule (ACE) approaches to carbon dioxide emissions limits for electric utility steam generating units (EGUs).

EPA begins cleanup of toxic Indianapolis commercial property

August 30, 2018

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced it has begun cleaning up a south-side Indianapolis property that has been soaked in hazardous waste for decades. The 1.35-acre property known as the AA Oil Site has been abandoned since 1993.

Jury awards $289M to man who blames Roundup for cancer

August 13, 2018

A San Francisco jury’s $289 million award to a former school groundskeeper who said Monsanto’s Roundup left him dying of cancer will bolster thousands of pending cases and open the door for countless people who blame their suffering on the weed killer, the man’s lawyers said.

Pence family gas stations left costly environmental legacy

July 13, 2018

The collapse of an oil company linked to the Pence family in 2004 was widely publicized. Less known is that the state of Indiana — and, to a smaller extent, Kentucky and Illinois — are still on the hook for millions of dollars to clean up more than 85 of the company’s contaminated sites, including underground tanks that leaked toxic chemicals into soil, streams and wells.

Supreme Court rejects Indiana barge company’s oil spill appeal

June 19, 2018

An Indiana-based barge company lost its bid Monday to have the Supreme Court of the United States hear a case of first impression over whether the company was liable under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 for an oil spill caused by the tug boat operator.

EPA must reply to suit over power plant pollution from Indiana, other states

June 14, 2018

A federal judge has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to respond to Maryland's request for a declaration that power plants in five upwind states are contributing to Maryland’s air quality problems.

EPA to update Hammond, Whiting residents on toxic cleanup

May 23, 2018

Residents of two northwestern Indiana cities are getting an update on efforts to clean up heavy metals near a former industrial smelter.

Indiana residents urged to comment on US Steel settlement

May 22, 2018

Environmental groups are urging northwest Indiana residents to comment on a proposed federal settlement over a U.S. Steel plant’s discharging of a hazardous chemical that entered a Lake Michigan tributary in Portage.

EPA finds more lead contamination in Hammond, Whiting

May 9, 2018

The Environmental Protection Agency has discovered more lead contamination in northwestern Indiana. Soil samples collected since October have revealed more than two dozen contaminated yards in Hammond and Whiting, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Indiana leads amici fight against California climate change suit

April 23, 2018

Indiana is leading a 15-state fight against a California lawsuit the states say represents an attempt by two California cities to impose their climate change policies on a national level.

Indiana lawmaker hopes to protect state forests from logging

April 16, 2018

An Indiana lawmaker plans to reintroduce legislation to protect the state’s forests after seeing the outcome of a timber cut that removed more than 1,700 trees.

EPA, U.S. Steel reach consent decree over chemical spill

April 3, 2018

.S. Steel will pay a $600,000 civil penalty and $630,000 to reimburse various federal agencies for costs and damages after one of its plants discharged wastewater containing a potentially carcinogenic chemical into a tributary of Lake Michigan, federal and state officials said Monday.

Marathon to pay $335K for 2016 diesel spill

March 29, 2018

Marathon Petroleum Corp. has agreed to pay $335,000 for a 2016 spill where nearly 36,000 gallons of diesel fuel leaked into the Wabash River near the Indiana-Illinois border. The settlement came as about 42,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled last week into Big Creek in Posey County.

Companies move to dismiss East Chicago lead contamination suit

March 22, 2018

Companies taken to court over property damage from the contaminated USS Lead Superfund site in East Chicago have asked a federal judge to dismiss the case.

Judge holds climate change class in suits against big oil

March 21, 2018

A federal judge presiding over lawsuits that accuse big oil companies of lying about global warming to protect their profits is turning his courtroom into a classroom in what could be the first hearing to study the science of climate change.

Indiana House member Ober picked for state utility commission

March 20, 2018

The Indiana House utility committee chairman will be leaving the Legislature for a seat on the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission that oversees most of the state’s electricity and natural gas companies.

Miami County considers wind farm restrictions

March 20, 2018

Miami County in northern Indiana is considering new restrictions that could hinder a proposed wind farm that would bring 75 power generating turbines to the area.

Muncie residents protest lead plant’s permit renewal

February 27, 2018

The state Department of Environmental Management has renewed a central Indiana lead plant’s operating permit for another five years after declining to hold a public hearing. The department said a hearing wasn’t needed because it had answered all of the comments it received during a public comment period.

Attorneys general urge offshore drilling plan’s cancellation

February 1, 2018

The top lawyers for a dozen coastal states want the U.S. Interior Department to cancel the Trump administration’s plan to expand offshore oil and gas drilling, warning it threatens their maritime economies and natural resources.

East Chicago facility settles suit over Clean Air Act violations

January 26, 2018

Cokenergy, SunCoke Energy and its subsidiary Indiana Harbor Coke Co. have reached a settlement including $5 million in penalties with the state and federal governments to clean up operations in East Chicago, resolving a case that involved hundreds of violations of federal pollution standards.

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