Environmental Enforcement Project
Our Environmental Enforcement Project team believes that we are at the beginning of a new chapter of environmental enforcement and have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to set new standards for the courts now that Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council has been overturned. For decades, the Chevron test resulted in weak government regulation under the guise of “deference” to agency decisionmakers where statutory authority is “ambiguous.” Indeed, Chevron deference has left us with decisions that were not wins for the environment or public safety. They were wins for bureaucratic decisionmakers that weigh the environmental impacts of regulation against the economic costs to polluters, all under the guise of deference.
The power of citizen suit litigation and its ability to protect local communities is expansive. Our nation’s core environmental laws authorize any individual whose interests may be impacted by pollution to file suit against those that harm them and their environment. Citizen suit statutes are blind to race and socioeconomic status, allowing affected communities to take formal action in federal court to stop unlawful pollution.
As questions about agency deference are resolved by lower courts across the country, Public Justice will lead the charge to ensure the protection of the people and the planet. The power of citizen suit litigation is illustrated by EEP’s recent 2024 victories: stopping the clearcutting by a timber company to save the threatened Marbled Murrelet in Oregon; holding one of the largest feedlots in the country accountable for environmental pollution in Idaho; and getting regulators in Florida to comply with the Clean Water Act and issue a permit for the Piney Point phosphate facility that is more protective of the environment. The real-world transformative change citizen suits bring to local and regional communities is the reason why Public Justice exists. We go to Court every day to fight climate change, secure environmental justice, and make polluters pay.
Recent Highlights
Congressman Mfume questions EPA Director Michael Regan about Public Justice’s petition to EPA to regulate coal cars under the Clean Water Act.
Congressman Kweisi Mfume is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate uncovered coal trains in Baltimore City, saying residents are tired of breathing in polluted air.
Mfume, Curtis Bay community push for stronger regulation on trains carrying coal
Click the video above to view Javon Bennett’s testimony about the coal dust pollution in Lambert’s Point, Virginia. Learn more about the case here.
“Public Justice represented my organizations in a difficult and significant pollution case. Their expertise achieved an excellent result for our organization’s membership and the environment.”
Justin Bloom, Founder of Suncoast Waterkeeper & Board Member, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper.
You can help. You have the power to stop polluters. Contact us today to confidentially and anonymously make a pollution report. We take your privacy seriously at Public Justice. If you are a whistleblower, please use this form to ensure your report is treated with the highest degree of care and confidentiality. You can also make a donation to Public Justice to allow us to enhance and expand our work. Every step and every dollar matters.
Click here to donate today
Public Justice is one of Food & Water Watch’s most important partners in the fight to reform our unjust food system, shut down factory farms that pollute waterways and harm public health, and take on Big Ag’s entrenched corporate power. Their legal team is exceptional, and we always appreciate their support.
Tarah Heinzen, Legal Director, Food & Water Watch
Dan, Jim and the whole Public Justice team are exceptional lawyers and fierce advocates who fight on behalf of communities impacted by irresponsible and greedy corporations. They win cases that have far-reaching implications for the environment---establishing precedent that will extend beyond individual court cases.
Aaron Isherwood, Phillip S. Berry Managing Attorney, Sierra Club
