2nd Circuit Backs Advocates In Finding EPA's Vessel General Permit Flawed

摘要

A federal appellate court has remanded EPA's 2013 vessel general permit (VGP), siding with environmentalists who argued the permit violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) because it did not require use of best available technology to control discharges of invasive species from ships' ballast water. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled Oct. 5 in Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), et al. v. EPA that the agency acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it set technology-based effluent limits (TBELs) that matched International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards without evaluating the availability of onshore technology that could meet more stringent limits. Additionally, the judged ruled EPA erred in exempting certain vessels that travel only within the Great Lakes from the TBELs and in setting a narrative standard for water quality-based effluent limits. See page 2 for details. (Doc. ID: 185441)