Opinion ID: 781047
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: New York's Title V Permit Program

Text: 7 Section 502(d)(1) of the CAA authorizes the EPA to approve permit programs meeting Title V's requirements. 42 U.S.C. § 7661a(d)(1). The CAA directs the EPA to promulgate regulations setting forth the minimum elements of a state permit program, which must include certain requirements identified in the Act. 42 U.S.C. § 7661a(b). Congress established a multi-step process leading to the EPA's approval of state programs. The process incorporates firm deadlines. See 42 U.S.C. § 7661a(d). Pursuant to this statutory schedule, programs were to begin operating no later than November 16, 1996, six years after Title V became law. In the event that a program was not approved by that date, the CAA contemplated stiff sanctions. The state would be exposed to financial penalties, including the loss of federal highway funds. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 7661a(d)(2)(B) and 7509(b). The EPA, moreover, would be required to implement a federal Title V permitting program in that state, pursuant to the EPA's regulations in 40 C.F.R. § 71. See 42 U.S.C. § 7661a(d)(3). 8 New York, through the DEC, submitted its Title V program to the EPA for approval in November 1993. On November 7, 1996, shortly before the statutory deadline for either the granting of full approval or the assumption of permitting responsibilities by the EPA, the EPA granted New York interim approval—a procedure provided for by the CAA—determining that the State has demonstrated that the program substantially meets the minimum requirements for an interim State operating permits program. 61 Fed.Reg. 57589, 57592. 9 Under the CAA, interim approval shall expire ... not later than 2 years after such approval, and may not be renewed. 42 U.S.C. § 7661a(g). When the EPA granted interim approval, it identified eight deficiencies that needed to be addressed so that a fully approved program could be in place by the expiration of interim approval. 1 Notwithstanding its awareness of the statutory deadlines, the EPA disregarded them and repeatedly extended interim approval of New York's program, as well as those of other states across the country. See 61 Fed.Reg. 56368 (Oct. 31 1996); 62 Fed.Reg. 45732 (Aug. 29, 1997); 65 Fed.Reg. 7333 (Feb. 14, 2000). New York's last extension occurred on May 22, 2000, when it was extended until December 1, 2001. See 65 Fed.Reg. 32035. In response to this practice, NYPIRG and the Sierra Club filed a petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, challenging the legality of these extensions. See Sierra Club v. EPA, No. 00-1262 (D.C.Cir.). This lawsuit was settled in November 2000. In the settlement agreement, the EPA committed to start operating permitting programs under its own regulations by December 1, 2001, for each state not fully approved by that date. 10 Pursuant to the agreement, the EPA also published a Federal Register notice on December 11, 2000, inviting public comment on deficiencies in state Title V programs and committing to issue a NOD for any claimed shortcoming in an operating permits program that [the EPA agreed] constitutes a `deficiency' within the meaning of [40 C.F.R.] part 70. 65 Fed.Reg. 77376, 77377 (Dec. 11, 2000). On March 11, 2001, NYPIRG, a nonprofit group consisting mainly of college students organized to advocate for issues concerning the environment and public health, responded to the EPA's invitation for public comment by submitting an extensive discussion of perceived shortcomings in New York's permit program, under which permits had been issued pursuant to the EPA's November 7, 1996 grant of interim approval. In its letter, NYPIRG identified nine alleged deficiencies-which, are with minor exceptions, the same perceived problems at issue in these appeals-and requested the issuance of a NOD to the DEC. 2 On October 25, 2001, however, the EPA published a proposed full approval of New York's program based on its determination that the eight deficiencies identified at the time of interim approval no longer existed. The EPA requested comments but noted that they should be limited to the eight specific issues that were addressed pursuant to EPA's November 7, 1996 interim approval of the New York State operating permits program. 66 Fed.Reg. 53966 (Oct. 25, 2001). On November 23, 2001, NYPIRG again submitted comments to the EPA, discussing essentially the same alleged deficiencies raised in its March 11, 2001 letter of comment. 11 Notwithstanding NYPIRG's identification of these alleged deficiencies, on December 5, 2001, the EPA published a notice of final rulemaking, granting contingent full approval to New York's program. 66 Fed.Reg. 63180 (Dec. 5, 2001). In this notice, the EPA reiterated that the eight deficiencies identified at the time of interim approval no longer impeded full approval. In addressing NYPIRG's comments, the EPA acknowledged that issues other than those listed in the November 7, 1996 interim approval may exist in the New York program but concluded that newly identified deficiencies that may exist do not prohibit full approval. Id. at 63181. Discussing the statutory provisions of the CAA governing both full and interim approval, the EPA further concluded that the appropriate and more cohesive reading of the statute recognizes EPA's authority to grant New York full approval in this situation while working simultaneously with the state, in its oversight capacity, on any additional problems that were recently identified. Id. at 63182. The EPA's full approval remained contingent pending the permanent implementation by New York of certain emergency rules promulgated to bring it into compliance with the CAA and the EPA's regulations. After these rules became permanent, the EPA granted New York final full approval. 67 Fed.Reg. 5216 (Feb. 5, 2002). 12 Under the EPA's interpretation of the statutory provisions governing interim and full approval, CAA § 502(g), which governs interim approval, provides an alternate path to full approval. Full approval would otherwise be governed by CAA § 502(d) and would not be permitted when the EPA determined that the program did not meet all the requirements of Title V. According to the EPA's interpretation, if a state has been granted interim approval, to receive full approval it need only remedy deficiencies identified by the EPA at the time of interim approval. 13 NYPIRG disputes this interpretation, contending that, when the EPA is aware of deficiencies, it may not fully approve a program, regardless of whether it becomes aware of the deficiencies before or after interim approval. In NYPIRG's view, in other words, there is only one path to full approval. It is set forth in § 502(d) and permits approval only of a deficiency-free program.