In October, the Fertilizer Institute and a coalition of fertilizer manufacturers led by PCS Phosphate Company, Inc. filed separate challenges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, seeking to stay and invalidate EPA’s final rule  for Phosphoric Acid Manufacturing and Phosphate Fertilizer Production Risk and Technology Review and Standards of Performance for Phosphate Processing, under the Clean Air Act.  The October Petitions claim that EPA imposed new requirements to continuously monitor the liquid and gas influent flow rates for low-energy scrubbers and demonstrate continuous compliance with a minimum influent liquid-to-gas ratio, effective immediately upon publication of the rule; created a new monitoring approach for low-energy scrubbers using blower design capacity with “appropriate adjustments for pressure drop”, alleging that is an ambiguous and vague requirement and is unworkable; and included other provisions in the rule that are being challenged.  The Petitioners argue that the final rule substantially and unforeseeably changed terms of the proposed rule which had been published on November 7, 2014, without allowing public comment on the changes.  The groups also petitioned EPA for administrative reconsideration of the rule and requested that EPA stay the rule until the petitions are considered.

For more information, please contact Steve O’Day.