Filippone v. Iowa Department of Natural Resources

After an Iowa district court affirmed the denial of the rulemaking petition, Filippone again appealed. The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the denial. The Court of Appeals declined to expand Iowa’s public trust doctrine to include the atmosphere, noting that the doctrine has a “narrow scope.” The appellate court also held that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources had given fair consideration to the petition and that denial of the petition was not unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious or an abuse of discretion, and that Filippone had failed to preserve error on her Inalienable Rights Clause claim. One judge issued a concurring opinion stating that he felt that there was a “sound public policy basis” for extending the public trust doctrine to air but that the court was constrained by Iowa Supreme Court precedent limiting the doctrine’s scope. Filippone sought review in the Iowa Supreme Court, but on May 9, 2013 the Supreme Court <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/571d109b04426270152febe0/t/576209d4197aea9b325c336f/1466042837239/13.05.09-IowaSC-Decision_0.pdf">denied</a> review.