Clean Air Act Citizen Suits: Defense and Litigation Strategies

The CAA provides an avenue for citizens to separately enforce environmental laws and permits when they believe governmental agencies haven’t taken timely action against parties under federal and state regulations.

Given the new administration’s environmental priorities and proposed cut-backs to the EPA’s budget, many expect an uptick in citizen suits, both against regulated entities and against the EPA to perform its statutory obligations.

Listen as our panel examines citizen suits under the CAA, focusing on defenses and strategies for litigating and resolving these matters. The panel will discuss case law developments (including a recent $19 million judgment) and also provide best practices to reduce the risks of citizen suits.

1. Types and Characteristics of CAA Citizen Suits
   1. Against facility owners
   2. Against EPA or other agencies
2. Responding to a Notice of Intent to Sue
3. Litigating Citizen Suit Actions
   1. Defenses
      1. Notice
      2. Standing
      3. Diligent Prosecution/Mootness
      4. Title V operating permit shield defense
   2. Other novel litigation approaches to CAA citizen suits
4. Litigation under other Regimes
   1. State litigation
   2. Overlap with nuisance, toxic tort
   3. Intervention in suits against EPA to enforce agency action
5. Court Developments – Citizen suits, climate change and nuisance litigation
6. Strategies for Reducing Risk of CAA Citizen Suits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

• Responding effectively to risks and notice of potential CAA citizen suits
• Court-tested litigation tactics to defend CAA citizen suits
• Preclusion of CAA citizen suits through state or federal agency settlements