Activists Sue Over EPA Decision To Exempt Biomass From GHG Permits

摘要

Environmentalists have filed suit over EPA's plan to exempt biomass-fired and other biogenic fuel sources from having to meet first-time greenhouse gas (GHG) permitting rules, claiming that the agency does not have authority to retroactively exclude biomass facilities from the rules' scope. EPA March 21 issued a proposed rule to defer GHG permitting requirements for biomass for three years. The proposal includes a final agency decision to grant a forest industry petition asking the agency to reconsider its inclusion of biomass in its "tailoring" rule establishing GHG permit limits. Activists cannot sue over a proposal, but they can file suit in federal court over the decision to grant the reconsideration as being a final agency action.