Articles

The EPA should get on with Clean Water Act reform

August 16, 2018 | By TONY FRANCOIS

For many years, PLF has served as advocate for ordinary Americans facing byzantine regulation of their land by the EPA’s water bureaucrats. In 2006 our client John Rapanos won his case at the Supreme Court, establishing that EPA’s regulations defining “navigable waters” were illegal. But rather than follow Justice Scalia ...

Articles

#MarksMadness

March 30, 2018 | By TONY FRANCOIS

PLF filed a friend of the court brief in the Supreme Court of the United States a few months ago, in Hughes v. United States, and the Court heard oral argument in the case this week. The case asks the Supreme Court to provide better guidance to the lower courts on what to do when the … ...

Articles

Congress questions EPA about Andy Johnson's stock pond

October 05, 2015 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Several weeks ago, the New York Times ran a front page article about the Andy Johnson’s stock pond and the EPA compliance order threatening him with more than $16 million in fines. Here’s a taste: The sun was sinking and the brook trout were biting, so Andy Johnson and his daughter Aspen, 6, stepped onto … ...

Articles

Is Chief Justice Roberts anti-environment?

March 30, 2015 | By JONATHAN WOOD

To honor Chief Justice Robert’s first decade on the Supreme Court — more like castigate him — the Constitutional Accountability Center has released a series of papers on the court’s jurisprudence. The most recent of which addresses the court’s environmental cases. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the paper reveals more about th ...

Articles

EPA & enviros decide that suit against poultry farmer is for the birds

October 13, 2014 | By JONATHAN WOOD

As we reported last month, the EPA has abandoned its case against a West Virginia poultry farmer for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. Last week, environmental groups followed suit, ending the case. The case began when the poultry farmer, Lois Alt, received a compliance order accusing her of violating the Clean Water Act … ...

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US Senator Vitter features PLF's Duarte case on Environment and Public Works Committee blog

May 01, 2014 | By TONY FRANCOIS

Today United States Senator Vitter (R-La), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, featured PLF’s case on behalf of John Duarte and Duarte Nursery against the Corps of Engineers on one of the Committee’s blogs.  Senator Vitter notes that this recent case in California paints a picture of what more Americans ...

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Judge refuses to toss PLF suit against wetlands enforcers due process violations

April 23, 2014 | By TONY FRANCOIS

Today, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss PLF’s due process challenge against the Army Corps of Engineers, brought on behalf of Duarte Nursery and its president, John Duarte. The suit challenges the Army Corps’ violation of Duarte’s cons ...

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PLF comments on EPA’s strategic plan

January 02, 2014 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

Last week, Pacific Legal Foundation submitted our comments on EPA’s draft Strategic Plan for 2014.  The most interesting part of this document is the agency’s plan to reduce the number of enforcement actions it will take in order to focus on what it considers to be the most “serious” environmental polluters.  This approach ...

Articles

If every connection is significant, then none are

December 23, 2013 | By TONY FRANCOIS

Last week, I testified before the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board review panel on the EPA’s recent wetlands connectivity report.  Last week’s testimony follows on PLF’s written comments to the Board in October.  EPA is using the connectivity report to justify a proposed new regulation that will att ...