Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA

Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, and EPA filed a joint stipulation of dismissal without prejudice of the environmental groups’ lawsuit that sought to compel EPA to respond to their petition seeking regulation of aircraft greenhouse gas emissions. The dismissal came after EPA issued a final endangerment finding in July 2016 for certain aircraft greenhouse gas emissions. EPA said in July that it anticipated proposing emissions standards that would be at least as stringent as standards that the International Civil Aviation Organization is expected to formally adopt in March 2017.

EPA asked the federal district court for the District of Columbia to dismiss an action in which environmental groups sought to compel EPA to regulate aircraft carbon dioxide emissions. EPA argued that its issuance in July of a final endangerment finding for such emissions made the entire action moot. After EPA issued the final determination, the court ordered the environmental groups to show cause why the action should not be dismissed. The environmental groups concurred that the portion of their lawsuit seeking a final endangerment finding was moot (and the court subsequently dismissed that count), but the groups argued that EPA’s ongoing failure to set emissions standards constituted unreasonable delay. In support of its motion to dismiss, EPA argued that the groups could not make an unreasonable delay claim because EPA had no obligation to take action at the time the groups filed the action; only EPA’s issuance of the final endangerment finding triggered any duty. Briefing on the motion to dismiss was scheduled to be completed on September 23.