Pruitt's Critics Say Ozone Reversal Shows EPA 'Chaos,' Limits On Power

摘要

Environmentalists and other critics of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt say his sudden decision to scrap a one-year delay he had announced for issuing ozone air standard attainment designations suggests an agency in "chaos," and shows that there are limits to his discretionary authority for postponing Obama-era rulemakings. Several sources drew a connection between Pruitt's sudden Aug. 2 reversal of the designations delay and the recent federal appeals court ruling scrapping its attempt to delay implementation of the previous administration's rule setting methane emissions limits on new sources of oil and gas drilling. EPA "faced a lot of legal jeopardy" on ozone given doubts over its Clean Air Act authority for the designations delay, says one environmental lawyer, and the methane ruling "must have affected their thinking."