July 2, 2020: Today, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated one of the Pruitt EPA’s awful Clean Air Act policy reversals, holding that, contrary to EPA’s new position, Title V of the Clean Air Act and its implementing regulations require operating permits that secure compliance with “all existing statutory requirements.”
Briefly, the Pruitt EPA had reversed decades of policy and declared that, regardless of whether a source’s modification should have triggered major permitting requirements--i.e., "best available control technology"--those requirements are not “applicable requirements” that need to be addressed in plants’ operating permits.
The Tenth Circuit decision vacates EPA's interpretation of the CAA regulations, and should help revive our ability to challenge major modifications and enforce the permitting provisions of the Clean Air Act through Title V petitions. The opinion and order also includes a great discussion of citizen standing, securing citizens’ access to the courthouse.
Outside counsel Keri Powell litigated this case with assistance from Sierra Club ELP senior attorneys Andrea Issod and Joshua Smith, and support from Violet Lehrer, David Abell, Ana Boyd, Lauren Hogrewe, and Lou Finazzo, who played vital roles in developing standing witnesses and finalizing the briefing.