Opinion ID: 621128
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Emission Limits from Consent Decrees

Text: Montana Sulphur claims the EPA acted arbitrarily and capriciously because the FIP did not take into account the reduced emission limits resulting from certain consent decrees and Montana air quality permit changes entered into between sources such as ExxonMobil, CHS Refineries, and the State of Montana. Montana Sulphur contends it was irrational for the EPA to ignore the effects of these consent decrees, which were entered into after the 2002 SIP disapproval but before the 2006-2008 FIP. The EPA offered three justifications for declining to consider the emission reductions that resulted or will result from those consent decrees and permit changes. First, it noted that Montana did not actually make any revisions to the SIP to address the flaws in that document, and, having disapproved portions of the SIP, the EPA was required to fill those gaps. 73 Fed.Reg. at 21,421. Second, the EPA noted that even though federally enforceable, some of the state permits can be revised without EPA approval and the consent decrees have a limited lifespan; it opined that stationary source emission limits necessary to demonstrate attainment must be included in the FIP or approved SIP so that changes to those limits may only be made with its approval. Id. Finally, the EPA explained that the emission limits within the consent decrees and permit actions do not contain limits that are consistent with the averaging times of the NAAQS, specifically the 3-hour and calendar-day averaging periods. 73 Fed.Reg. at 21,422. For example, the CHS permit and decree impose ppm limits for 7-day and 365-day rolling averages instead of mass pound limits per 3-hour and calendar-day periods. Id. The EPA pointed out that [n]one of the commenters has suggested these limits be converted to FIP mass limits that would apply over a 3-hour averaging period, and the State has not submitted a SIP revision with such limits. Id. In light of the specific procedures in place for SIP approval or disapproval and the responsibility of the EPA to promulgate a FIP when the state plan is inadequate in some respect, we conclude the EPA's position is justified. The EPA correctly reads 42 U.S.C. § 7410(a)(2) as requiring states to include enforceable emission limits and other control measures in the plan itself. Whatever requirements may exist in the consent decrees and construction permits (which may or may not be equivalent to the requirements of the FIP, since they are measured by different means over a different time frame), they are not part of the underlying SIP and the EPA here has authority to fill the gaps in the portions of the SIP it had previously disapproved.