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Environmental Appeals

 

Under Vermont law, the Attorney General’s Office represents the state in environmental related appeals before the Vermont Supreme Court. The Environmental Protection Division — in cooperation with the AGO Solicitor General — handles civil environmental case appeals. The Division coordinates with state agencies or departments involved in the case. In recent years, the Environmental Protection Division and AGO generally have represented the State in a wide range of appellate matters involving topics of statewide importance:

 

The Division, in cooperation with the AGO Solicitor General, also represents the State in a range of environmental law appeals in the federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court:Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007) (finding EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions); Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, 134 S.C.T. 2427 (2014) (Upholding EPA's Authority to Regulate greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources that are regulated for other air pollutants).

The Division is currently helping defend the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan for regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from the electric power sector in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the proposed federal rule for the waters of the United States in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Appellate Links

Vermont Supreme Court

Second Circuit Court of Appeals

Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure

Local Rules of the Second Circuit

Supreme Court of the United States