EPA Aims To Issue Long-Delayed Federal Landfill Methane Plan By May

摘要

EPA is notifying a federal appeals court that it intends to issue in May a long-delayed federal plan implementing landfill methane limits in the vast majority of states, and the agency is also asking that oral arguments scheduled for Feb. 22 over a Trump EPA rule delaying the deadlines for the federal plan be postponed due to the pending action. Joe Goffman, the Biden EPA's acting air chief, detailed the timeline for the plan in a Feb. 1 letter to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and state attorneys general that filed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit case EDF, et al. v. EPA over the landfill methane delay rule. The letter outlines the agency's effort to implement the plan this spring based on an August 2019 proposal that was never finalized. The letter was also submitted as a "citation of supplemental authorities" to the court, along with an unopposed Feb. 1 motion asking to postpone oral arguments for at least 45 days, until April 8, and requiring the parties to file motions by Thursday, March 4, outlining next steps, which could include dismissing the case.