LAWSUITS FILED OR PENDING

July 2008

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Environmental Groups File Challenge to Department of Energy’s Tax Credit Allocation to Coal Based Energy Projects
Appalachian Voices, et al., vs. Bodman, et al.

Two environmental advocacy groups recently filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on March 3, 2008, alleging that DOE violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), when it allocated tax credits to nine coal-based energy projects without first preparing environmental studies to consider the effects of use of coal for the projects. The environmental groups claim that providing the fuel for the projects—extracting, processing, transporting, incinerating, and disposing of the coal—will result in significant environmental impacts, including increased green house gases, that requires DOE to undertake an environmental assessment to comply with NEPA and the APA. This case is among a host of lawsuits that seek to apply existing environmental laws like NEPA to the issue of climate change.