State AG Database – California

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The following is a list of actions taken by the California Attorney General to ensure that environmental laws are fully implemented and enforced:

Lawsuits v. Federal Government

New York v. Jackson (D.D.C. 2012): Multi-state lawsuit to force EPA to comply with Clean Air Act requirement to update and revise National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) every five years.

American Farm Bureau Federation v. EPA (D.C. Cir. 2009): Multi-state lawsuit challenging the adequacy of EPA’s 2006 revision to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) regulating soot pollution under the Clean Air Act.

New Jersey et al. v. EPA (D.C. Cir. 2008): Multi-state challenge the EPA’s decision to migrate mercury regulations from section 112 to section 111 of the Clean Air Act.

Massachusetts v. EPA (2007): Multi-state challenge to EPA denial of petition to regulate GHGs from motor vehicles under CAA.

New York v. EPA (D.C. Cir. 2006): Multi-state challenge to 2002 EPA rules modifying maintenance exceptions to New Source Review.

New York v. U.S. EPA (D.C. Cir. 2005): Multi-state challenge to 2002 EPA rule creating and modifying standards for the New Source Review process.

New York v. Bodman (S.D.N.Y 2005): Multi-state lawsuit challenging the Department of Energy (DOE)’s failure to create energy efficiency standards for consumer appliances according to the timeline established by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (ECPA).

NRDC v. Abraham (2004): States joined NRDC lawsuit challenging the DOE’s attempt to lower energy efficiency standards for certain appliances under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (ECPA).

Lawsuits v. Private Actors

Settlement, Connecticut v. Hyundai Motor Co. (Conn. Super. Ct. 2016): Multi-state settlement of consumer-protection claims against car manufacturers that overstated their vehicles’ fuel efficiency.

Settlement, California v. Volkswagen (2016): California AG, working with the federal EPA, entered into two related settlements over Volkswagen’s use of defeat devices to evade emissions testing.

Ventura County and State of California v. Santa Clara Waste Water (2015): Joint prosecution between the State of California and the County of Ventura against Santa Clara Waste Water, its parent company, and individual employees for criminal violations stemming from hazardous waste disposal.

American Electric Power v. Connecticut, 564 U.S. 410 (2011): Federal common law nuisance claim against five major electric power companies for their contribution to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions.

Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd. (2006): Washington State intervened and multiple states submitted Amicus Briefs in lawsuit filed by Native American tribe against Canadian smelting company for polluting the Columbia River and Lake Roosevelt.

Defense of Federal Standards

West Virginia v. EPA (D.C. Cir. 2015): Multi-state intervention to join EPA’s defense of Clean Power Plan against challenge mounted by other states and industry petitioners.

North Dakota v. EPA (D.C. Cir. 2015): Eighteen states filed amicus brief in support of EPA in litigation challenging New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) regulating carbon dioxide emission from new and modified power plants.

Michigan v. EPA (2015): Fifteen states intervened in lawsuit to defend EPA standards regulating mercury and other air pollutants from the power sector.

Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA (2014): Multiple states intervened in lawsuit to defend EPA rules concerning regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from stationary and mobile sources.

American Public Gas Assoc. v. Department of Energy (C.A.D.C. 2014): Multi-state intervention in support of Energy Department proposed rule setting efficiency standards for residential gas furnaces.

Defense of State Standards

Defense of California Feed-in-Tariff Program (2009): California AG filed brief with the California Public Utility Commission defending the state’s authority to use feed-in tariffs.

Central Valley Chrysler-Jeep, Inc. v. Goldstene (2007): State AGs intervened in lawsuit to defend California’s greenhouse gas emission standards for motor vehicles against challenge alleging that the standards are preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA).

Criminal Cases

Criminal Investigation of the Refugio Oil Spill (May 2016): Indictment of Plains All American Pipeline on Criminal Charges Resulting from the Refugio Oil Spill.

Ventura County and State of California v. Santa Clara Waste Water (2015): Joint prosecution between the State of California and the County of Ventura against Santa Clara Waste Water, its parent company, and individual employees for criminal violations stemming from hazardous waste disposal.

Administrative Proceedings

Defense of California Feed-in-Tariff Program (2009): California AG filed brief with the California Public Utility Commission defending the state’s authority to use feed-in tariffs.

Legislative Inputs

Congressional Testimony on Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Amendments, Pub. L. 114-182 (2016): Letters and testimony providing recommendations on federal legislation amending the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to revise the process and requirements for evaluating and determining whether regulatory control of a chemical is warranted.

Other Interventions

Green 20 State AG Coalition (2016): Group of 17 State AGs and Former Vice President Al Gore announced a coalition of states committed to taking creative steps to combat climate change, including investigations into fossil fuel companies and climate-related disclosures.

Amendments to Proposition 65 Regulations (2015): California Attorney General amended regulations under Proposition 65, a California disclosure law related to exposure to toxic chemicals.