In another blow to the Administration’s deregulatory agenda, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled on December 27 that EPA has a non-discretionary duty to propose updates to its 2001 lead dust hazard standard.  The Court gave EPA 90 days to issue the proposal, and a year to finalize it.  Community Voice, et al v. EPA (9th Circuit, Dec. 27, 2017).  The Court’s 2-1 decision rejected the Administration’s argument that its only duty under the law was to issue the original standards in 2001, and that the decision whether to update the standards was within the agency’s discretion.  Instead,… Read more