Source: https://www.scribd.com/doc/232291684/WV-111d-Amicus-6-26-2014
Timestamp: 2017-11-18 09:31:55
Document Index: 259236505

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 204', '§ 7411', '§ 7411', '§ 7412', '§ 1074', '§ 1407', '§ 2306', '§ 2533', '§ 869', '§ 101', '§ 1787', '§ 4520', '§ 1060', '§ 2081', '§ 230', '§ 1956', '§ 2327', '§ 1226', '§ 1232', '§ 4014', '§ 355', '§ 2577', '§ 3651', '§ 3723', '§ 104', '§ 105', '§ 1201', '§ 219', '§ 4973', '§ 613', '§ 6427', '§ 1053', '§ 2736', '§ 414', '§ 3015', '§ 410', '§ 11501', '§ 218', '§ 300', '§ 3025', '§ 5776', '§ 7411', '§ 47115', '§ 12', '§ 2018', '§ 1324', '§ 126', '§ 7411', '§ 7412', '§ 7411', '§ 7411', '§ 7411', '§ 7412', '§ 7412', '§ 7412', '§ 7412', '§ 204', '§ 7411', '§ 108', '§ 302', '§ 126', '§ 126', '§ 302', '§ 7411', '§ 12', '§ 2018', '§ 1324', '§ 869', '§ 1074', '§ 1407', '§ 2306', '§ 2533', '§ 101', '§ 1787', '§ 4520', '§ 1060', '§ 2081', '§ 230', '§ 1956', '§ 2327', '§ 1226', '§ 1232', '§ 4014', '§ 355', '§ 2577', '§ 3651', '§ 3723', '§ 104', '§ 105', '§ 219', '§ 613', '§ 1201', '§ 4973', '§ 6427', '§ 1053', '§ 2736', '§ 414', '§ 3015', '§ 410', '§ 11501', '§ 218', '§ 300', '§ 3025', '§ 5776', '§ 47115', '§ 108']

WV 111d Amicus 6.26.2014 | United States Environmental Protection Agency | United States Government
Description: WV 111d Amicus 6.26.2014
BRIEF OF THE STATES OF WEST VIRGINIA, ALABAMA, ALASKA,
KENTUCKY, NEBRASKA, OHIO, OKLAHOMA, SOUTH CAROLINA,
AND WYOMING AS AMI CI CURI AE IN SUPPORT OF THE PETITIONER
ATTORNEYGENERAL OF
Tel. (304) 558-2021
Counsel for Amicus Curiae State of
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 1 of 25
Alabama Solicitor General
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 2 of 25
INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE...............................................................................1
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT.................................................................................2
ARGUMENT.............................................................................................................4
I. EPA HAS CONCEDED THAT THE PROPOSED RULE VIOLATES A
“SPECIFIC PROHIBITION” FOUND IN THE “LITERAL” TERMS OF THE
CLEAN AIR ACT .....................................................................................................4
II. A CLERICAL “DRAFTING ERROR” IN THE 1990 CLEAN AIR ACT
AMENDMENTS DOES NOT DISPLACE THE “LITERAL” TERMS OF
SECTION 111(D) ......................................................................................................6
III. EPA’S INTERPRETATION WOULD BE IMPERMISSIBLE EVEN
GIVING EFFECT TO THE CLERICAL ERROR, FOR CONGRESS STILL HAS
INSTRUCTED THAT EPA MAY NOT EXTEND ITS SECTION 111(D)
REGULATION TO POLLUTANTS “EMITTED FROM A SOURCE
CATEGORY WHICH IS REGULATED UNDER SECTION 112”......................12
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 3 of 25
Am. Elec. Power, Inc. v. Connecticut, 131 S. Ct. 2527 (2011) .................................5
* Am. Petroleum Inst. v. SEC, 714 F.3d 1329 (D.C. Cir. 2013)....................... 11, 12
CBS, Inc. v. FCC, 453 U.S. 367 (1981).....................................................................8
Citizens to Save Spencer County v. EPA, 600 F.2d 844 (D.C. Cir. 1979)...............15
Director of Revenue of Missouri v. CoBank ACB, 531 U.S. 316 (2001) ..................8
* Leedom v. Kyne, 358 U.S. 184 (1958) ................................................................2, 6
New Jersey v. EPA, 517 F.3d 574 (D.C. Cir. 2008) ..................................................6
Reiter v. Sonotone Corp., 442 U.S. 330 (1979).......................................................13
Stephan v. United States, 319 U.S. 423 (1943)....................................................7, 10
* Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, No. 12-1146, 2014 WL 2807314, 573 U. S.
___ (June 23, 2014) ..........................................................................................3, 14
White Stallion Energy Ctr., LLC v. EPA, 748 F.3d 1222 (D.C. Cir. 2014)...............6
1 U.S.C. § 204(a) .......................................................................................................7
42 U.S.C. § 7411 (1987) ............................................................................................7
* 42 U.S.C. § 7411............................................ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14
* 42 U.S.C. § 7412................................................................... 2, 5, 6, 8, 9 10, 13, 14
* Pub. L. No. 101-549, 104 Stat. 2399 (1990)................................................ 8, 9, 14
Revisor’s Note, 10 U.S.C. § 1074a..........................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 10 U.S.C. § 1407............................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 10 U.S.C. § 2306a..........................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 10 U.S.C. § 2533b..........................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 10 U.S.C. § 869..............................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 11 U.S.C. § 101..............................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 12 U.S.C. § 1787............................................................................11
Authorities upon which amici chiefly rely are marked with asterisks.
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 4 of 25
Revisor’s Note, 12 U.S.C. § 4520............................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 14 U.S.C. ch. 17 Front Matter .......................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 15 U.S.C. § 1060............................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 15 U.S.C. § 2081............................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 16 U.S.C. § 230f ............................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 18 U.S.C. § 1956............................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 18 U.S.C. § 2327............................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 20 U.S.C. § 1226c..........................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 20 U.S.C. § 1232............................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 20 U.S.C. § 4014............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 21 U.S.C. § 355..............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 22 U.S.C. § 2577............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 22 U.S.C. § 3651............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 22 U.S.C. § 3723............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 23 U.S.C. § 104..............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C. § 105..............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C. § 1201............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C. § 219..............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C. § 4973............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C. § 613A...........................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C. § 6427............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 29 U.S.C. § 1053............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 33 U.S.C. § 2736............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 37 U.S.C. § 414..............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 38 U.S.C. § 3015............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 39 U.S.C. § 410..............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 40 U.S.C. § 11501..........................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 42 U.S.C. § 218..............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 42 U.S.C. § 300ff–28.....................................................................12
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 5 of 25
Revisor’s Note, 42 U.S.C. § 3025............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 42 U.S.C. § 5776............................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 42 U.S.C. § 7411..............................................................................9
Revisor’s Note, 49 U.S.C. § 47115..........................................................................12
Revisor’s Note, 5 U.S.C. app. 3 § 12.......................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 7 U.S.C. § 2018..............................................................................11
Revisor’s Note, 8 U.S.C. § 1324b............................................................................11
EPA, Legal Memorandum for Proposed Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for
Existing Electric Utility Generating Units ........................................ 4, 6, 9, 10, 14
Final Brief of Respondent EPA, New Jersey v. EPA, 517 F.3d 574 (D.C. Cir.
2008), 2007 WL 2155494.....................................................................................15
Letter from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey to EPA (June 6, 2014) ...................1
Letter from National Association of Manufacturers et al. to EPA 26-27 (July 25,
2012).....................................................................................................................13
Memorandum from President Obama to Administrator of the EPA (June 25, 2013)
Senate Legislative Drafting Manual § 126(b)(2)(A) .............................................8, 9
65 Fed. Reg. 79,825 (Dec. 20, 2000) .........................................................................6
69 Fed. Reg. 4652 (Jan. 30, 2004) ...........................................................................10
70 Fed. Reg. 15,994 (March 29, 2005)..................................................... 3, 9, 11, 15
77 Fed. Reg. 9,304 (Feb. 16, 2012) ...........................................................................6
79 Fed. Reg. 34,830 (June 18, 2014) .........................................................................1
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 6 of 25
INTEREST OF AMI CI CURI AE
Amici States have a fundamental interest in this case because the
Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has made clear that it will finalize the
and amici must begin to expend enormous resources to prepare to
comply. The President expressly “direct[ed]” EPA to “use [its] authority under
section[] . . . 111(d) of the Clean Air Act” to require the States to regulate CO
emitted from existing coal-fired power plants,
even though Section 111(d)
specifically prohibits such regulation. EPA thus issued the Proposed Rule under
Section 111(d). Despite a letter from West Virginia informing EPA of the
illegality of its proposal,
EPA published the Proposed Rule and committed to
completing the rulemaking by June 2015. EPA’s assertion of authority denied it
by Congress imposes real harms on the States now: States have to undertake huge
amounts of burdensome work now to develop plans to meet the anticipated rule
and cannot wait for the final rule and still have any chance of meeting the indicated
deadlines. Only this Court’s prompt intervention can stop this ongoing harm.
79 Fed. Reg. 34,830 (June 18, 2014) (“Proposed Rule”).
Memorandum from President Obama to Administrator of the EPA (June 25,
2013), available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/25/
presidential-memorandum-power-sector-carbon-pollution-standards.
Letter from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey to EPA (June 6, 2014), available
at http://www.wvago.gov/pdf/Letter%20to%20EPA%20on%20section%20111(d)
%20authority.pdf.
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 7 of 25
What EPA is attempting is nothing short of extraordinary, and warrants
relief under the exception recognized in Leedom v. Kyne, 358 U.S. 184 (1958).
EPA has issued a proposed rule even though it admits that the “literal terms” of the
Clean Air Act prohibit the rule. And as described below, EPA’s attempted
justification for avoiding and rewriting that language is not remotely plausible. It
is difficult to imagine a case where an agency’s non-final action is more obviously
“in excess of [the agency’s] delegated powers and contrary to a specific
prohibition.” Id. at 188.
The “specific prohibition” against EPA’s proposed rule is in the very
statutory provision the agency cites as its authority: Section 111(d) of the Clean
Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7411(d). That provision grants EPA certain authority to
require States to regulate existing-source emissions, but it specifically excludes the
regulation of any air pollutant emitted from a source category that EPA already
regulates under Section 112 of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7412. As even EPA concedes,
a “literal” application of this carve-out prohibits the proposed regulation because
the agency has already regulated coal-fired power plants under Section 112.
To escape that prohibition, EPA nonsensically asserts that the “literal” terms
of Section 111(d) are called into question by what the agency itself characterizes as
an erroneous clerical entry in the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act, which
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 8 of 25
appears in the Statutes at Large but was excluded from the U.S. Code. That entry,
EPA has acknowledged, was clearly a “drafting error” because it sought to make a
clerical correction to Section 111(d) rendered unnecessary by a superseding
substantive amendment. See 70 Fed. Reg. 15,994, 16,031 (March 29, 2005). EPA
nevertheless contends that the “drafting error” must be given meaning and
therefore casts doubt on the “literal” terms of Section 111(d). Id. This claim is
unprecedented and entirely meritless. Under this Court’s controlling case law and
well-established practice, an obvious clerical error—a relatively common
occurrence in modern, complex legislation—must be disregarded.
Furthermore, even if EPA’s novel claim that it must give “effect” to a
mistaken clerical entry were correct, the clerical error does not excise the
substantive prohibition and the Proposed Rule would still be illegal. EPA would
read Section 111(d) in a way that conflicts both with the text of the amendment
that was codified in the U.S. Code and with the clerical error—but that would
conveniently permit the Proposed Rule. This is unlawful under well-established
principles of statutory construction; the same principles that the Supreme Court
reaffirmed this week when it rejected another attempt by EPA to rewrite the Clean
Air Act in order to “bring about an enormous . . . expansion in EPA’s regulatory
authority without clear congressional authorization.” Utility Air Reg. Grp. v. EPA,
2014 WL 2807314, at *11, 573 U. S. ___ (June 23, 2014).
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 9 of 25
I. EPA Has Conceded That The Proposed Rule Violates A “Specific
Prohibition” Found In The “Literal” Terms Of The Clean Air Act
In its legal memorandum accompanying the Proposed Rule,
EPA explains
that it is acting pursuant to Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act—consistent with
the President’s directive. Mem. 11-12. That provision requires EPA under narrow
circumstances to “prescribe regulations which shall establish a procedure . . . under
which each State shall submit to the Administrator a plan which establishes
standards of performance” for certain existing sources and certain air pollutants.
42 U.S.C. § 7411(d)(1). By EPA’s own admission, this rarely used provision has
been invoked in only five instances in forty years. Mem. 9-10.
As it appears in the U.S. Code, Section 111(d) specifically excludes from
EPA’s authority the power to regulate “standards of performance for any existing
source for any air pollutant . . . emitted from a source category which is regulated
under section 7412 of this title. . . . .” 42 U.S.C. § 7411(d)(1). “[A] literal reading
of that language,” EPA itself admits, means that the agency “c[an] not regulate any
air pollutant from a source category regulated under section 112” of the Clean Air
Act. Mem. 26 (emphasis added). Or, as the Supreme Court has observed, “EPA
Legal Memorandum for Proposed Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for
Existing Electric Utility Generating Units (“Legal Memorandum” or “Mem.”),
available at http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-06/documents
/20140602-legal-memorandum.pdf.
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 10 of 25
may not employ § 7411(d) if existing stationary sources of the pollutant in question
are regulated under . . . the ‘hazardous air pollutants’ program, § 7412.” Am. Elec.
Power, Inc. v. Connecticut, 131 S. Ct. 2527, 2537 n.7 (2011).
This prohibition against double-regulation of existing sources is part of a
coherent approach to regulating air pollutants from new and existing stationary
sources. First, Section 112 concerns national emissions standards for hazardous
air pollutants emitted from any number of new and existing sources. See 42 U.S.C.
§ 7412. The inclusion of a source category under Section 112 generally depends
upon several considerations, id. at § 7412(c); for power plants in particular, the
relevant test is whether the Administrator finds such inclusion to be “appropriate
and necessary,” id. § 7412(n)(1)(A). Second, Section 111(d) addresses air
pollutants emitted from existing sources not regulated under Section 112. When
EPA has chosen not to include a source category in Section 112’s national scheme,
emissions from existing sources within that category must be subject instead to
state-by-state standards under Section 111(d), assuming certain predicates have
been satisfied. Finally, the rest of Section 111 concerns national standards for air
pollutants emitted from new sources and is not restricted by the scope of Section
112. Allowing double-regulation of only new sources, as opposed to existing
sources, makes sense given the special questions of reliance and fairness raised by
the imposition of additional regulation on existing sources.
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 11 of 25
As EPA acknowledges, the Proposed Rule violates the unambiguous terms
of Section 111(d) as it appears in the U.S. Code because the proposal seeks to
impose impermissible double regulation on existing coal-fired power plants. EPA
categorized power plants as part of a “source category” under Section 112 in 2000,
see 65 Fed. Reg. 79,825, 79,830 (Dec. 20, 2000), and this Court in 2008 rejected
EPA’s attempt to withdraw that finding, see New Jersey v. EPA, 517 F.3d 574
(D.C. Cir. 2008). Then, in 2012, EPA imposed significant Section 112 restrictions
on coal-fired power plants, see 77 Fed. Reg. 9,304 (Feb. 16, 2012), which this
Court recently upheld, see White Stallion Energy Ctr., LLC v. EPA, 748 F.3d 1222
(D.C. Cir. 2014). Under the “literal” reading of Section 111(d), see Mem. 26, the
listing of power plants under Section 112 and the 2012 restrictions both
independently prohibit EPA from invoking Section 111(d) to adopt the Proposed
Rule. The proposal clearly violates a “specific prohibition” against double-
regulation of existing sources and relief is warranted. Leedom, 358 U.S. at 188.
II. A Clerical “Drafting Error” In The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments Does
Not Displace The “Literal” Terms Of Section 111(d)
To escape the clear terms of Section 111(d) in the U.S. Code, EPA asserts
that Section 111(d) is actually “ambiguous” and therefore subject to the agency’s
“reasonable” interpretation. Mem. 8, 26. Drawn from a 2005 EPA analysis—
which was part of a rule under Section 111(d) that this Court vacated in New
Jersey v. EPA, 517 F.3d 574—the agency’s argument turns on a one-sentence
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 12 of 25
clerical entry in the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act that was not codified
in the U.S. Code. The 1990 Amendments included two entries relevant to Section
111(d). Both appear in the Statutes at Large, but only the first was incorporated
into the U.S. Code. EPA argues that the existence of the second entry creates an
ambiguity that casts doubt on the language of Section 111(d) in the U.S. Code.
EPA’s claim of an ambiguity is baseless. Congress has determined that the
“Code of Laws of the United States current at any time shall . . . establish prima
facie the laws of the United States . . . .” 1 U.S.C. § 204(a). The U.S. Code is
displaced only where it is “inconsistent” with the Statutes at Large. Stephan v.
United States, 319 U.S. 423, 426 (1943). There is no inconsistency here.
The first entry appears in the Statutes at Large among a list of other entries
making substantive amendments to Section 111. Prior to these amendments in
1990, Section 111(d) had prohibited EPA from regulating under that Section “any
air pollutant” “included on a list published under . . . 112(b)(1)(A).” 42 U.S.C.
§ 7411(d) (1987). Put another way, the pre-1990 prohibition on EPA’s Section
111(d) authority focused on whether the pollutant could be regulated under Section
112, not whether EPA had actually regulated the source of that pollutant under
Section 112. The substantive amendment made a significant change to this
prohibition by replacing the cross-reference to “112(b)(1)(A)” with the language
that now appears in the U.S. Code—EPA may not regulate the “emission” of “any
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 13 of 25
pollutant” from “a source category which is regulated under section 112.” Pub. L.
No. 101-549, § 108(g), 104 Stat. 2399 (1990). The amendment changed the
restriction in Section 111(d) from one triggered by hazardous air pollutants to one
triggered instead by source categories actually regulated under Section 112.
The second entry appears much later in the Statutes at Large among a list of
purely clerical changes made in 1990—entitled “Conforming Amendments.” Pub.
L. No. 101-549, § 302(a), 104 Stat. 2399 (1990). “Conforming Amendment[s]”
are “amendment[s] of a provision of law that [are] necessitated by the substantive
amendments or provisions of the bill.” Senate Legislative Drafting Manual
§ 126(b)(2)(A). They effectuate the sorts of ministerial changes required to clean
up a statute after it has been substantively amended. Id. These “include[]
amendments, such as amendments to the table of contents, that formerly may have
been designated as clerical amendments.” Id.; cf. Director of Revenue of Missouri
v. CoBank ACB, 531 U.S. 316, 323 (2001) (treating “conforming amendment” as
non-substantive); CBS, Inc. v. FCC, 453 U.S. 367, 381–82 (1981) (same).
Consistent with its description as a conforming amendment, this clerical
entry sought simply to bring up to date Section 111(d)’s cross-reference to Section
112(b)(1)(A). Other substantive amendments to the Clean Air Act in 1990 had
eliminated Section 112(b)(1)(A) and replaced it with Sections 112(b)(1), 112(b)(2),
and 112(b)(3). This conforming entry was ostensibly “necessitated by th[ose]
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 14 of 25
substantive amendments,” Senate Legislative Drafting Manual § 126(b)(2)(A), and
sought merely to account for those changes by “striking ‘[112](b)(1)(A)’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘[112](b),’” Pub. L. No. 101-549, § 302(a).
But this clerical entry was clearly included by mistake and cannot possibly
cast any doubt on the plain terms of Section 111(d) in the U.S. Code. When this
conforming amendment is applied after all the substantive amendments, as is
required by basic legislative drafting rules, it is no longer necessary. The cross-
reference to subsection 112(b)(1)(A) that this second, non-substantive entry is
designed to conform has already been removed by the first, substantive entry—and
replaced, as discussed above, by the language that now appears in the U.S. Code.
That is why the U.S. Code includes the notation that the clerical entry here “could
not be executed.” Revisor’s Note, 42 U.S.C. § 7411.
EPA has correctly recognized as much—noting in 2005, for example, that
the clerical entry “is a drafting error and therefore should not be considered”—but
the agency has also wrongly determined that it nevertheless “must attempt to give
effect to both the [substantive] and [clerical] [entries], as they are both part of the
current law.” 70 Fed. Reg. at 16,031. According to EPA, the two amendments
create two separate versions of Section 111(d) if they are each independently
implemented into the pre-1990 statutory text, and EPA must make sense of those
two “versions.” Mem. 24-25. The first “version” incorporates only the substantive
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 15 of 25
amendment and is what currently appears in the U.S. Code. This “version”
materially changes Section 111(d)’s restriction to one focused on source categories
regulated under Section 112. The second “version” incorporates only the clerical
“drafting error” and therefore makes no substantive change to Section 111(d). It
retains the pre-1990 focus on preventing regulation of hazardous air pollutants
under Section 111(d), regardless of whether the source category emitting those
hazardous air pollutants is actually regulated under Section 112. Mem. 24-25.
EPA’s entire argument is based upon a fallacy. The only evidence that may
rebut the plain terms of Section 111(d) as expressed in the U.S. Code is the
Statutes at Large, see Stephan, 319 U.S. at 426, but the Statutes at Large simply do
not reflect two separate versions of Section 111(d).
Rather, there are simply a
substantive and a clerical amendment that, when properly applied one after the
other, reveal that the mistaken clerical entry cannot be executed. And as this Court
recently explained in American Petroleum Institute v. SEC, where a mistake in
renumbering a statute and correcting a cross-reference conflicts with substantive
The false premise that the Statutes at Large contain two versions of Section
111(d) may stem from a staffer’s report that EPA previously mischaracterized as
appearing in the Statutes at Large. 69 Fed. Reg. 4652, 4685 (Jan. 30, 2004). That
report includes both “versions” of Section 111(d)—set off by brackets—but it is
not a part of the U.S. Code or Statutes at Large, and is thus irrelevant. While EPA
seems now to have realized its mistake and has made no reference to the report in
its Legal Memorandum, EPA retains the report on its website and mischaracterizes
the report as “Clean Air Act,” thus causing some confusion among commentators.
See http://www.epa.gov/ttn/caaa/gen/caa-pdf.pdf, at p.46.
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 16 of 25
provisions of that statute, the mistake should be considered most likely “the result
of a scrivener’s error[]” and should not be treated as “creating an ambiguity.” 714
F.3d 1329, 1336-37 (D.C. Cir. 2013). This reasoning applies with particular force
here, where basic rules of legislative drafting make clear that a scrivener’s error
occurred. EPA was thus correct when it originally concluded that the clerical entry
simply “should not be considered,” and wrong when it nonetheless treated that
entry independently and on par with the substantive one. 70 Fed. Reg. at 16,031.
EPA’s suggestion that the situation here is “unusual”—and for that reason
should be treated as creating an ambiguity—is demonstrably false. 70 Fed. Reg. at
16,030. Amici’s research has revealed hundreds of clerical errors that have been
excluded from the U.S. Code because they “could not be executed,” exactly as
occurred here. Of these hundreds of errors, numerous examples involved the
precise “drafting error” that occurred here: a clerical amendment rendered moot by
substantive amendments, and in each case the clerical amendment was excluded
because it “could not be executed.”
As this Court observed in American
See, e.g., Revisor’s Note, 5 U.S.C. app. 3 § 12; Revisor’s Note, 7 U.S.C. § 2018;
Revisor’s Note, 8 U.S.C. § 1324b; Revisor’s Note, 10 U.S.C. § 869; Revisor’s
Note, 10 U.S.C. § 1074a; Revisor’s Note, 10 U.S.C. § 1407; Revisor’s Note, 10
U.S.C. § 2306a; Revisor’s Note, 10 U.S.C. § 2533b; Revisor’s Note, 11 U.S.C.
§ 101; Revisor’s Note, 12 U.S.C. § 1787; Revisor’s Note, 12 U.S.C. § 4520;
Revisor’s Note, 14 U.S.C. ch. 17 Front Matter; Revisor’s Note, 15 U.S.C. § 1060;
Revisor’s Note, 15 U.S.C. § 2081; Revisor’s Note, 16 U.S.C. § 230f; Revisor’s
Note, 18 U.S.C. § 1956; Revisor’s Note, 18 U.S.C. § 2327; Revisor’s Note, 20
U.S.C. § 1226c; Revisor’s Note, 20 U.S.C. § 1232; Revisor’s Note, 20 U.S.C.
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 17 of 25
Petroleum, these sorts of obvious “scrivener’s errors” are common in modern,
complex legislation. 714 F.3d at 1336-37. Amici are not aware of a single case
giving substantive meaning to these sorts of clerical “drafting errors.” But if
EPA’s novel argument here is accepted, numerous provisions of the U.S. Code
would be called into doubt, as clerical errors that have been long excluded from the
Code would now be creatively read as grievous ambiguities.
III. EPA’s Interpretation Would Be Impermissible Even Giving Effect To The
Clerical Error, For Congress Still Has Instructed That EPA May Not
Extend Its Section 111(d) Regulation To Pollutants “Emitted From A
Source Category Which Is Regulated Under Section 112”
Even accepting EPA’s view that the Statutes at Large contain two “versions”
of Section 111(d) that must be given effect, the Proposed Rule would still be
patently illegal. As discussed above, EPA believes that the two entries in the
Statutes at Large evidence Congress’s intent to enact two different limitations on
Section 111(d). The first limitation—embodied in the substantive amendment—
prohibits regulation under Section 111(d) of any emissions from any source
§ 4014; Revisor’s Note, 21 U.S.C. § 355; Revisor’s Note, 22 U.S.C. § 2577;
Revisor’s Note, 22 U.S.C. § 3651; Revisor’s Note, 22 U.S.C. § 3723; Revisor’s
Note, 23 U.S.C. § 104; Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C. § 105; Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C.
§ 219; Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C. § 613A; Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C. § 1201;
Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C. § 4973; Revisor’s Note, 26 U.S.C. § 6427; Revisor’s
Note, 29 U.S.C. § 1053; Revisor’s Note, 33 U.S.C. § 2736; Revisor’s Note, 37
U.S.C. § 414; Revisor’s Note, 38 U.S.C. § 3015; Revisor’s Note, 39 U.S.C. § 410;
Revisor’s Note, 40 U.S.C. § 11501; Revisor’s Note, 42 U.S.C. § 218; Revisor’s
Note, 42 U.S.C. § 300ff–28; Revisor’s Note, 42 U.S.C. § 3025; Revisor’s Note, 42
U.S.C. § 5776; Revisor’s Note, 49 U.S.C. § 47115.
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 18 of 25
categories regulated under Section 112. The second limitation—which, according
to EPA, follows from the conforming amendment—prohibits regulation under
Section 111(d) of any hazardous air pollutants, regardless of the pollutant’s source.
Even if these two versions are deemed to exist, the Proposed Rule fails
under basic principles of statutory construction. Courts and agencies must “give
effect, if possible, to every word Congress used.” Reiter v. Sonotone Corp., 442
U.S. 330, 339 (1979). Here, that canon would require an interpretation that gives
effect to “every word” of both limitations, which is not only “possible” but known
to EPA. Id. As regulated parties have pointed out to the agency, the two
limitations can straightforwardly be read together to prohibit EPA from regulating
under Section 111(d) both any pollutant emitted from any source category already
regulating under Section 112 and any hazardous air pollutant regardless of its
If EPA’s erroneous view of the Statues at Large is accepted, that would
be the only proper interpretation and the Proposed Rule would still be unlawful.
EPA rejects this approach in favor of a new “interpretation” of Section
111(d), which improperly seeks to cut back on each limitation so that the sum of
the two constraints miraculously is less than the explicit effect that either would
have on its own. EPA asserts that Section 111(d) should be read to prohibit
See, e.g., Letter from National Association of Manufacturers et al. to EPA 26-27
(July 25, 2012), available at http://www.nam.org/~/media/53e86e050c7a495a9c
c84f9778ba1f10/association_ghg_nsps_comments_june_25_2012.pdf.
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 19 of 25
regulation of “any [hazardous air pollutant]s listed under section 112(b) that may
be emitted from [a] particular source category” that “is regulated under section
112.” Mem. 26. Contrary to the substantive amendment—which would prevent
any regulation under Section 111(d) of any existing sources already regulated
under Section 112—EPA’s interpretation would allow such regulation if it
concerns air pollutants not covered by Section 112 (such as CO
). And contrary to
the limitation EPA believes was embodied by the clerical amendment—which
would not allow regulation under Section 111(d) of any hazardous air pollutant—
EPA’s reading would permit such regulation if the hazardous air pollutant is
emitted from an existing source not regulated by Section 112.
Thus EPA asserts that the effect of one limitation on its power is to negative
another explicit limitation adopted by Congress and signed by the President. But
as the Supreme Court said just this week in rejecting another attempt by EPA to
rewrite the Clean Air Act, “an agency may not rewrite clear statutory terms to suit
its own sense of how the statute should operate.” Utility Air Reg. Grp., 2014 WL
2807314, at *13. Regardless of what effect is given to the clerical error, that effect
cannot possibly change the fact that the Statutes at Large contain the substantive
prohibition that Section 111(d) may not be employed to regulate the emission of
any air pollutant “emitted from a source category which is regulated under section
112.” Pub. L. No. 101-549, § 108(g).
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 20 of 25
The agency’s atextual reading also contravenes even EPA’s own
understanding of Congress’s intent. As EPA admits, one purpose of the 1990
Amendments to the Clean Air Act was “to change the focus of section 111(d) by
seeking to preclude [section 111(d)] regulation of those pollutants that are emitted
from a particular source category that is actually regulated under section 112,” so
as to preclude “duplicative or overlapping regulation.” 70 Fed. Reg. at 16,031.
But as the Proposed Rule illustrates, EPA’s reading eviscerates that goal.
Moreover, according to EPA, another purpose was to “retain the pre-1990
approach of precluding regulation under . . . section 111(d) of any [hazardous air
pollutant].” Id. Yet, the view EPA now advances would permit such regulation.
EPA has previously cited to Citizens to Save Spencer County v. EPA, 600 F.2d
844 (D.C. Cir. 1979), to justify “deference” for its rewriting of Section 111(d).
2008), 2007 WL 2155494, at *103. But neither Citizens to Save Spencer County
nor any other form of deference applies. In Citizens to Save Spencer County, EPA
faced two conflicting and unquestionably substantive provisions. Here, the so-
called conflict is between a substantive amendment and a clerical “drafting error,”
in which case the substantive amendment simply prevails. In addition, while EPA
had no option in Citizens to Save Spencer County but to adopt a middle ground
between two irreconcilable statutory commands, here the agency has ignored an
interpretation that would give “maximum possible effect” to both of the allegedly
conflicting provisions. 600 F.2d at 870.
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 21 of 25
June 25, 2014 Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Elbert Lin
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 22 of 25
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 23 of 25
I hereby certify that on this 25th day of June, 2014, I electronically filed the
foregoing Brief Of The States Of West Virginia, Alabama, Alaska, Kentucky,
Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina And Wyoming As Amicus Curiae In
Support Of The Petitioner with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF System,
which will send notice of such filing to all registered CM/ECF users. In addition, I
will provide courtesy copies of the Brief, by overnight mail, to:
Regina A. McCarthy, Administrator
Ariel Rios Building, 1101A
Office of General Counsel (2344-A)
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 24 of 25
I hereby certify that pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 29(d), that this amicus brief
is 15 pages in length—using Microsoft Word 2010 in 14-point Times New Roman
font—which is no more than one-half the maximum length authorized for
Petitioner’s brief under Fed. R. App. P. 21(d).
USCA Case #14-1112 Document #1499435 Filed: 06/25/2014 Page 25 of 25
Documents Similar To WV 111d Amicus 6.26.2014
SENATE HEARING, 110TH CONGRESS - OVERSIGHT OF RECENT EPA DECISIONS
Airquality Standards
E. I. Dupont De Nemours & Company v. Russell E. Train, as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 541 F.2d 1018, 4th Cir. (1976)
Concerned Citizens of Bushkill Township, by Its Trustee Ad Litem, Richard King, Bushkill Anglers Chapter, Trout Unlimited, by Its Trustee Ad Litem, Barry Fehnel, Linda Kortz, Laurence Jarrett, Joseph Pail, Milton Kelchner, William Morman and Frank Nikles v. Douglas Costle, as Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency, and Jack Schramm, Regional Administrator of Region Iii, Environmental Protection Agency, Bushkill-Lower Lehigh Joint Sewer Authority, Defendant-Intervenor. Plainfield Township Taxpayers Association, Sheridan King, Michler Warner, Harold Coleman, and Joseph Dorner v. Douglas Costle, as Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency, and Jack Schramm, Regional Administrator of Region Iii, Environmental Protection Agency, Bushkill-Lower Lehigh Joint Sewer Authority, Defendant-Intervenor, Bushkill-Lower Lehigh Joint Sewer Authority, Defendant-Intervenor, 592 F.2d 164, 3rd Cir. (1979)
HOUSE HEARING, 110TH CONGRESS - EFFECT OF INDUSTRIAL CONTAMINATION ON SMALL BUSINESSES AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES - POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS