In Major Policy Shift, EPA Defers To Industry On Key NSR Permitting Test

摘要

In a major policy shift, EPA is dropping its long-running position that the agency can use its own projections of a facility's potential future emissions to trigger Clean Air Act new source review (NSR) permitting requirements and will now adopt industry's approach that will defer to companies to assess whether they believe NSR applies. The change, outlined in an eight-page memo that EPA quietly posted to its website Dec. 7, will have major regulatory and legal ramifications. Environmentalists have long warned that industry's position would mean far fewer facilities seeking NSR permits to reduce emissions, and the shift also makes it likely that the administration will now drop its defense of the prior long-running policy in a pending Supreme Court case. Relevant documents are available on InsideEPA.com. (Doc. ID: 207575) EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt signed the memo and sent it to all 10 agency regional administrators, and says the decision is part of his ongoing effort to overhaul and streamline the NSR program.