EPA Floats Case-By-Case Air Enforcement Discretion For Malfunctions

摘要

EPA is considering the use of case-by-case enforcement discretion to guide whether it will pursue suits against industrial facilities for emissions limit violations that occur during facility malfunctions, while the agency wrangles with the fallout from an appellate ruling scrapping a broader enforcement defense it had offered to industry. "[I]f a source is unable to comply with emissions standards as a result of a malfunction, the EPA may use its case-by-case enforcement discretion to provide flexibility, as appropriate," the agency says in its recent suite of proposed refinery emissions rules. Although the discretion approach is specific to the refinery regulations, it could signal how the agency might treat emissions limit violations for other industrial sectors in future rulemakings.