Last Friday, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that a rule allowing power plants and factories to avoid installing updated controls for smog-forming chemicals if the factory bought pollution credits in a regional cap-and-trade system was “inconsistent with the Clean Air Act.” The Court ruled that “a small number of sources purchasing allowances and increasing emissions could mean that overall emissions from sources in the area remained unchanged, or even increased.” The decision was one of more than a dozen appeals-court rulings striking down all or part of the Bush administration’s decisions on how to regulate sources of air pollution. If you have any questions about how recent Court rulings coupled with current legislation could impact your business, please contact Phillip Hoover or another member of SGR’s Environmental Practice Group.