In an August 20 opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that an EPA guidance document (the “Wehrum Memo”) providing that “major” sources of toxics air emissions can be reclassified as “area” sources if they reduce their emissions below the “major” source threshold is unreviewable in court because it is not a final agency action. Writing for the majority, Judge Robert Wilkins stated that the issue is governed by the two-prong test established by the 2016 Supreme Court opinion in United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co. To be reviewable in… Read more
Tag: toxic air
U.S. EPA Sued Over Missed Air Pollution Reviews
A nonprofit foundation has sued the U.S. EPA for missing deadlines to review and potentially revise air pollution limits for toxic air and emissions from a variety of air emission sources. Those sources include furnaces used in steel plants and large terminals to store and transport gasoline. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required to periodically review standards applicable to hazardous and toxic air pollutants. The EPA has missed the deadlines for reviewing the limits and standards for new sources for a number of categories including those that are applicable to electric arc furnaces and bulk petroleum storage… Read more