3rd Circuit Probe Of EPA-Approved State NOx Air Plan Might Set Precedent

摘要

Posted May 27, 2020 Appellate judges at recent oral argument probed the legality of EPA's approval of a Pennsylvania rule setting nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions limits for coal-fired power plants in the state, in a case that could set a precedent on the adequacy of state air plans in the region that has struggled with high levels of ozone-forming NOx. In Sierra Club v. EPA, environmentalists are urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit to scrap EPA's 2019 approval of a 2016 state rule setting reasonably available control technology (RACT), a strict level of emissions control, for Pennsylvania power plants. The group asks the court to remand the plan to EPA, with instructions for the agency either to require a state plan with tougher emissions limits, or to issue a federal plan instead. The Clean Air Act requires states designated in "nonattainment" with federal air quality standards to impose RACT on their major sources of industrial pollution. RACT is also required in states within the 12-state Ozone Transport Region (OTR) of Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, where stricter air pollution control mandates apply.