The attorneys general of nine states have filed an amicus brief in support of Murray Energy Company’s lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over proposed carbon dioxide limits on existing power plants. The brief, signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming, asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to issue an extraordinary writ blocking EPA’s proposed carbon standards. According to the brief, the rule as proposed violates the plain text of the Clean Air Act and would result in double regulation on existing power plants…. Read more
Tag: Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act Notices of Violation Not Reviewable
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a power plant’s suit seeking review of a Notice of Violation (NOV) issued to a coal plant. In the case, Luminant Generation Co., L.L.C. v. U.S., Luminant requested that the Court reject the NOV due to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) failure to provide adequate notice to the State of Texas, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in Sackett v. E.P.A. rejecting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s longstanding position that a Clean Water Act (CWA) order is not reviewable. The Fifth Circuit held that a Notice of Violation is not… Read more
DC Circuit Upholds EPA Rules Setting Standards for Mercury
On April 15, a Federal DC appeals court upheld the EPA’s February 2012 final rule setting air toxic standards for mercury. Under the rule, which applies to an estimate 600 power plants, power plants must now comply with more stringent emissions limits for mercury, filterable particulate matter as a surrogate for toxic metals, and hydrogen chloride as a surrogate for acid gases. The three-judge panel found that the EPA was well within their discretion under the Clean Air Act (“Act”) to consider only the health benefits, and not the cost to the industry. For more information on this matter, contact… Read more
Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments in Challenge to EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Rules
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral argument on the issue of whether the newly promulgated Greenhouse Emission Standard for vehicles triggers a Clean Air Act requirement to regulate emissions from stationary sources. A ruling against the EPA could eliminate the need for stationary industrial sources, such as power plants and petroleum refineries, to obtain prevention of significant deterioration and Title V Operating Permits for their greenhouse gas emissions. The court declined to hear other challenges to the EPA’s greenhouse gas rules, including its finding that greenhouse gas emissions present a public danger and should be regulated under… Read more
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case Challenging EPA’s Disapproval of Texas SIP
The petition for review filed by major power companies for the Supreme Court review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision regarding Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act (Act) has been denied. SIP would have provided a civil penalties defense for excess air emissions during planned startup, shutdown and maintenance activities; however, the EPA disapproved the section of the SIP creating the affirmative defense to exceedences occurring during these events. The Supreme Court was presented with two questions by Petitioners. First, can the EPA, under the Act, disapprove a state plan for… Read more
REQUEST TO STAY REVISED EPA STANDARDS FOR CEMENT KILNS DENIED BY D.C. CIRCUIT COURT
A D.C. circuit court has denied a request by environmental groups challenging the EPA’s revisions to a final rule setting revised air toxic standards for cement kilns. The EPA initially issued the rule in 2010, and revised the rule in February 2013 to ease the particulate matter standard. The 2013 final rule also granted more time to cement kiln facilities to bring their facilities into compliance with the new, relaxed rule. Environmental groups argued that the Clean Air Act prohibits the EPA from setting emission standards that are less stringent than existing limits. While the court denied the stay, it… Read more
States Claim EPA Proposed “Start-Up Rule” Oversteps Authority Under Clean Air Act
Several states have said in public comments to a U.S. EPA proposed rule that the EPA has exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act. Under the proposed rule, 36 states would be required to modify their state implementation plans (“SIPs”) to require them to impose restrictions on facilities to control emissions from sources during times of start-up, shutdown, and equipment malfunction. The states argue that, while the EPA has the authority to set national ambient air quality standards, it left to the discretion of the states how to meet the standards. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA may… Read more
Chemical Industry Disappointed by EPA Final Revised Air Toxics Rule for Area Sources
On December 14, 2012, EPA issued its final revised air toxics rule for “area” source chemical manufacturing facilities, after OMB completed its review the same day. The final rule revises a national emission standard for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) rule that dates back to a Bush Administration proposal in 2008, that was modified by the Obama Administration when the rule was initially issued in 2009. In the 2009 rule, the Obama EPA chose not to exempt from Title V permitting requirements “major sources that became synthetic area sources by installing air pollution controls after 1990.” The Bush EPA had proposed… Read more
Key Part of EPA Aggregation Test for Oil and Gas Drilling Operations Reversed
On August 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected EPA’s definition of “adjacency” used to determine when to aggregate emissions from oil and gas drilling operations for major source permitting purposes under the Clean Air Act. In a 2-1 ruling in the case of Summit Petroleum Corporation v. EPA, the Sixth Circuit held that the word “adjacent” has a plain and unambiguous meaning, and EPA’s effort to stretch the meaning to include dispersed emission sources based on functional interrelatedness was unreasonable and unlawful. For more information on the aggregation issue or the Sixth Circuit ruling,… Read more
THE EPA CAN NOW REGULATE GREENHOUSE GASES
The E.P.A. can now regulate greenhouse gases. A federal appeals court agreed with the E.P.A. that greenhouse gases endanger public health, which means that the agency has the authority to limit emissions under the Clean Air Act. This decision is a major blow to the coal industry. On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided that the Environmental Protection Agency (“E.P.A.”) was correct in its assertion that the Clean Air Act requires the federal government to impose limits on the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. In 2007, the E.P.A. argued that it did… Read more