Description: Action to compel EPA to respond to a 2009 petition to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations as sources of air pollution.
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Humane Society of the United States v. McCarthy
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 09/16/2016 Memorandum Opinion Download Memorandum opinion and order issued dismissing case for lack of jurisdiction. The court held that its jurisdiction arose under the Clean Air Act, not the Administrative Procedure Act, and that the action therefore could not be maintained because the Clean Air Act's citizen suit provision requires that prospective plaintiffs provide EPA with 180 days' notice, which the plaintiffs did not provide. 12/02/2015 Notice of Ruling Download Notice of ruling filed. Pointing to Similarities with Dismissed Case, EPA Said Federal Court Should Dismiss Lawsuit Seeking Regulation of Agricultural Sources Under Clean Air Act. After the federal district court for the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit that asked the court to compel EPA to respond to a petition asking it to regulate ammonia as a criteria pollutant under the Clean Air Act, EPA filed a notice of decision in a related case, asking that it also be dismissed. In the related case, plaintiffs have asked the court to require EPA to respond to a 2009 petition asking it to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) as a source of air pollution under the Clean Air Act. The plaintiffs alleged that air pollution from CAFOs endangers public health and welfare, including by contributing to climate change due to their emissions of methane and nitrous oxide. In its notice of decision, EPA said that the court’s decision in the first case addressed the same legal issues raised in EPA’s motion to dismiss in this case. In particular, EPA said that, as in the other lawsuit, plaintiffs had failed to provide statutorily-required pre-suit notice. 01/28/2015 Complaint Download Complaint filed. The Humane Society of the United States and four environmental organizations filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Columbia. They asked the court to require EPA to respond to their 2009 petition asking that concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) be regulated as a source of air pollution under the Clean Air Act. The complaint alleged that air pollution from CAFOs endangers public health and welfare, including by contributing to climate change due to their emissions of methane and nitrous oxide. In a related action, six organizations sought a response from EPA to a 2011 petition asking the agency to identify ammonia as a criteria pollutant. Large livestock operations are the leading source of ammonia pollution. The complaint alleged that ammonia contributes to regional haze, which has been associated with climate impacts.