THIS SCHEDULE CONTAINS SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION DECEMBER 31, 1996 CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND IS QUALIFIED IN ITS ENTIRETY BY REFERENCE TO 1996 FORM 10-K.The Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd., addressed whether, “[w]hen a smelter emits lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury compounds through a smokestack and those compounds contaminate land or water downwind, . . . the owner-operator of the smelter [can] be held liable for cleanup costs and natural resource damages under … With US EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel–fired electric generation still hotly contested in the D.C. Circuit, US EPA is proceeding with the next step in its implementation of the White House’s Climate Action Plan by moving forward with additional greenhouse gas regulations, this time of the nation’s oil and gas infrastructure.  As 2015 came to a close, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals quietly notified the parties in a decades-long environmental dispute that, in April 2016, the court will hear arguments in a case that could reshape CERCLA liability forever. 

The basis for the pending appeal is a district court order holding that air emissions could … On December 15, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected challenges by energy industry groups and several states that are seeking to scrap US EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (“MATS”) final rule.  White Stallion Energy Center, LLC v. EPA, Case No. 12-1100.  The Court remanded the rule to US EPA for … On September 29, 2015, US EPA issued a final rule for the regulation of emissions from the nation’s 142 petroleum refinery operations (the “Refinery Rule”).  The regulatory structure underlying the rule is complex, but essentially includes both a “residual risk review” to assess the risk to public health, and a “technology review” where, as the … On July 28, 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit remanded part of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) to USEPA for reconsideration, finding that the Agency had erred in 2014 sulfur dioxide and ozone budgets for 13 states. 

The next opportunity to influence outcome will be US EPA’s rulemaking process for re-setting … On April 8, 2015, a coalition of nine environmental organizations from California, Louisiana, Oregon and Ohio filed a Clean Air Act (CAA) citizen suit against US EPA in the District of Columbia alleging US EPA failed to “review, and revise as necessary” air toxics standards for 21 source categories under CAA § 112(d)(6).  The environmental organizations also allege US … As we reported last summer, the US Supreme Court ruled that US EPA lacked authority to impose Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) on facilities based solely on their emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs).  Since that decision there have been many questions about how sources of GHG … On April 20, 2015, EPA revised AP-42 emission factors for equipment found in refineries, chemical plants, and miscellaneous sources, substantially increasing the estimated emissions produced by equipment from these industry categories. 

The emission factors, which were last updated in 1991, were revised as a result of litigation brought by environmental groups that asserted that EPA had … can air purifier help with allergies Recently, the US Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) published its report Truth In Regulating: Restoring Transparency to EPA Rulemaking, criticizing EPA for not providing critical details about the regulatory intent and true costs associated with significant Agency rulemakings.  best air duct cleaning in houstonThe Chamber report follows on the heels of last week’s passage of H.R. 1029, the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform … air purifier plant indoor This month, in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association, the US Supreme Court overturned the D.C. Circuit’s Paralyzed Veteran doctrine, rejecting nearly 20 years of precedent requiring federal agencies to abide by notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures when they substantially alter an “interpretive” rule.

However, the decision also hints that even broader changes may be afoot.   Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of environmental groups’ Clean Air Act (CAA) citizen-suit actions against US EPA.  The court held that US EPA does not have a nondiscretionary duty to promulgate revised Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations when it revises a National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The Plaintiffs – … On November 25, 2014, US EPA released its long-awaited proposal to tighten the 8-hr ground-level ozone standard. The impacts of this rule are difficult to overstate. Unless changed, it will push much of the country into non-attainment, forcing state regulators to pursue emissions reductions while making permitting more difficult and restricting growth. A Smoggy Past: … On August 20, 2014, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a suit brought by environmental groups against Union Pacific Corp. and BNSF Railway Co., holding that the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) does not authorize a citizen suit to enjoin the emission of diesel particulate matter as it …

On August 12, 2014, the Ninth Circuit, in Sierra Club v. EPA, vacated US EPA’s decision to issue a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit to construct a power plant under outdated – and less stringent – air quality standards in place when the permit application was submitted.  The Court held that the Clean Air … As discussed in our recent blog post and client alert, the  proposed Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources  (ESPS) has now been published in the Federal Register.   This publication commences the 120 day comment period.  Comments on the proposed rule must be received by US EPA on or before October 16, 2014.… On June 2, US EPA published a final rule that outlines the regulatory framework states must follow to implement the 1997 and 2006 standards for fine particulate matter, or PM2.5.  The Rule was issued in response to a remand from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in January 2013, which returned for correction a pair of rules …

As detailed in our recent Client Alert, the Obama Administration, in an effort to curb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, has released a proposed rule that, if finalized, will require 30% reductions of CO2 emissions from 2005 emission levels from existing power plants by the year 2030.  The proposed existing source performance standard (ESPS) purports to … On May 9, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld US EPA’s rule revising the annual National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) despite serious concerns regarding how states and regulated entities are to proceed under new rules.  The January 2013 final rule lowers the annual allowable limit for PM2.5, eliminates the option of “spatial … US EPA has its work cut out for it as the Agency begins to review over 10,000 comments submitted concerning its proposed 2013 Clean Air Act New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for new power plants through the close of the comment period on May 9, 2014. 

US EPA’s work begins just as it plans to release its proposed … On April 15, 2014, in White Stallion Energy Center v. EPA, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) promulgated by US EPA on February 16, 2012, which sets new emissions standards for new and existing coal- and oil-fired power plants. EPA estimates that 1,400 power plants will be affected by the … On April 29, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-2 opinion reversing the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and reinstating the U.S. EPA’s promulgation of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (“CSAPR”), which regulates the inter-state transport of NOx and SO2 emissions in implementing the “Good Neighbor Provision” in the Clean Air Act.  On December 10, 2013, the US Supreme Court heard oral argument in consolidated appeals by US EPA and the American Lung Association regarding the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) in EPA v. EME Homer City Generation L. P.