Source: https://jeremygreenhouse.com/2013/03/
Timestamp: 2018-07-16 10:57:46
Document Index: 292040892

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 122', '§ 1342', '§ 122', 'art 1', 'art 4', '§ 124']

2013 March | Fire on the River!
On March 20, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued a 7-1 majority decision, written by Justice Kennedy, upholding EPA’s application of its “Silvicultural Rule,” 40 C.F.R. § 122.27, under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC), Nos. 11-338, 11-347. The Rule requires an NPDES permit for certain types of logging-related discharges unless they are exempted by statute. One such statutory provision exempts “discharges composed entirely of stormwater” unless the discharge is “associated with industrial activity.” 33 U.S.C. § 1342(p)(1). The Court held that EPA’s interpretation of its own rule defining “associated with industrial activity” (40 C.F.R. § 122.26(b)(14), the “Industrial Stormwater Rule”) as not applying to discharges of channelized stormwater runoff from logging roads was permissible; and that under…
Dust-Up Over EPA’s PM2.5 Regulations
Two January rulings by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit have imposed significant limitations on EPA’s ability to offer regulated parties flexibility in meeting the agency’s PM2.5 air quality regulations. In Nat. Res. Def. Council v. EPA, No. 08-1250, slip op. (D.C. Cir. Jan. 4 2013), the D.C. Circuit ruled that EPA improperly promulgated its 2007/2008 rule implementing the PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in non-attainment areas under the general implementation provisions of Subpart 1 of Part D of Title I of the Clean Air Act rather than the more stringent Subpart 4. The Court ordered the agency to revise the rules accordingly, a ruling which could call into question the legality of existing state air quality plans for…
Categories: Air, Bench & Bar
Tagged: climate, climate change action, environment, environmental law, epa, epa rulemaking, NAAQS, particulate matter, smoke, soot
EPA Appeals Board Revises Procedural Rules
Effective March 26, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Appeals Board has revised its procedural rules. 78 Fed. Reg. 5281 (Fri., Jan. 25, 2013). The rules, which are set forth in 40 C.F.R. § 124.19, govern administrative appeals from EPA-issued RCRA, UIC, NPDES, PSD or other final permit decisions. Under the current rules, a petitioner is required to file a substantive petition for review demonstrating that review is warranted. The Board considers this petition, along with any responsive briefs, to determine whether to grant review. If review is granted, the current rule contemplates a second substantive round of briefing on the merits. The amended rule essentially removes this second round of briefing; substantive briefing must be submitted at the outset of the…