State AG Database – Iowa

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

• Lawsuits v. Federal Government

• Lawsuits v. Private Actors

• Defense of Federal Standards

• Legislative Inputs

• Other Interventions

Lawsuits v. Federal Government

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).

Lawsuits v. Private Actors

Settlement with Volkswagen for Emissions Defeat Devices (2016): Settlement of consumer protection claims raised by a multi-state coalition of state attorneys general against Volkswagen for selling vehicles equipped with “defeat device” software intended to circumvent emissions standards and concealing this software from regulators and the public.

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

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.

Defense of Federal Standards

West Virginia v. EPA (D.C. Cir. Oct 23, 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. United States Environmental Protection Agency (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.

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.