Opinion ID: 587228
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Battery Burning Prohibition

Text: 18 Despite its continued belief that lead acid batteries are certainly a significant source of lead in MWC emissions, 56 Fed.Reg. at 5499, EPA decided not to include a ban on the burning of lead-acid vehicle batteries in its final rules, id.; 56 Fed.Reg. at 5521. The Agency offered three reasons for its decision to omit the ban: (1) commenters questioned whether it would be possible to achieve 100 per cent compliance; (2) the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act includes strict provisions against the burning of lead-acid batteries; and (3) EPA is considering a comprehensive approach to recycling lead-acid batteries under section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. 56 Fed.Reg. at 5499. Because EPA's proffered reasons for omitting the battery ban do not adequately explain why the ban is not the BDT in this area, this portion of the proposed rules, 40 C.F.R. §§ 60.56a(e) and 60.36a (to the extent that it imposes a ban on burning lead-acid vehicle batteries), is remanded to the Agency for more reasoned decisionmaking. 19 The petitioners countered EPA's first rationale by suggesting that, if 100 per cent compliance with a ban on burning lead-acid batteries is impossible, EPA could have adopted some lesser restriction (e.g. a 99 or 95 per cent ban). EPA responded by stating that it was limited to a choice between a 100 per cent ban or no ban at all. See EPA Br. at 40. We disagree with EPA's position. We have held that EPA has the authority to deviate from a proposed rule as long as its final rule represents a logical outgrowth of the proposal. See Small Refiner Lead Phase-Down Task Force v. EPA, 705 F.2d 506, 547 (D.C.Cir.1983); United Steelworkers of Am. v. Marshall, 647 F.2d 1189, 1221 (D.C.Cir.1980), cert. denied, 453 U.S. 913, 101 S.Ct. 3148, 69 L.Ed.2d 997 (1981). EPA cannot claim to have been unaware of the possibility of a less restrictive rule as at least one commenter suggested a best efforts or reasonable efforts standard. See Summary of Public Comments and Responses, supra, at 4-86. 20 EPA's next two rationales simply recognize that the matter of lead-acid battery incineration can be addressed under other statutes. Because EPA originally proposed the ban as the BDT for reducing emissions from batteries, and the CAA requires the Agency to explain why it changed its mind on this point, the mere existence of other statutory authority which might undergird EPA's final stance is insufficient to justify the omission of the battery ban. EPA has admitted that a ban would achieve air benefits. See 56 Fed.Reg. at 5499. The final rules, however, do not discuss nonair benefits or other economic benefits which would justify omitting the provision despite the air benefits. We therefore conclude that the rules must be remanded to EPA to explain why the BDT for reducing emissions resulting from lead-acid vehicle batteries is not a total or limited ban on their combustion.