Court Vacates EPA's Biomass GHG Permit Delay, Creating New Uncertainty

摘要

A federal appellate court has vacated EPA's three-year greenhouse gas (GHG) permit deferral for new plants that burn biomass, prompting industry calls for the agency to quickly complete a permanent waiver for the facilities -though agency officials are still struggling to craft a method for discounting the emissions due to biomass' ability to sequester carbon. In a 2-1 ruling July 12 in Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. EPA, et al,, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that EPA had acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it adopted a three-year deferral for biomass emissions from GHG requirements, though the court left the door open to the agency crafting a permanent exemption.