Judges Question 'National Applicability' Of EPA Non-Road Air Rule Waiver

摘要

Appellate judges at Nov. 9 oral argument in an air suit suggested EPA erred in granting California a Clean Air Act waiver to issue non-road engine air rules stricter than federal requirements, saying the agency might have misread the law by basing its approval on the rules being "nationally applicable" rather than having "nationwide scope or effect." If the three-judge panel that heard the argument finds that EPA erred by using "nationally applicable" for the test in the engine air rule waiver, it could raise questions over other waivers that have used the same test. The difference between the two tests is central to determining whether the D.C. Circuit will resolve a suit, Dalton Trucking, et al. v. EPA, et ai, in which the trucking industry is challenging EPA's approval of a waiver that allowed California to pursue the non-road diesel equipment emissions standards. If the court finds that the state rules do not have nationwide scope or effect, then it might send the case to the 9th Circuit, which includes California.