Mack McGuffey

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On April 18th, EPA filed motions in separate cases asking the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to delay pending litigation over two Clean Air Act (CAA) rules.  In one case, EPA asked the court to delay oral argument, scheduled for May 18th, in the litigation challenging its supplemental findings regarding the cost of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) Rule, which regulates hazardous air pollutant emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants.  EPA argues that a continuance is appropriate because it intends to review the supplemental finding for possible modification or repeal, citing President Trump’s recent “Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth.”

The EPA published a notice in the April 13th Federal Register requesting public comments on regulations that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement, or modification.  This request follows President Trump’s February 24th Executive Order that, among other things, requires federal agencies to establish a Regulatory Reform Task Force (“Task Force”) to make recommendations targeting specific federal regulations for elimination or modification.  Task Forces must seek input from entities affected by federal regulations, including businesses, consumers, non-governmental organizations and trade associations.  EPA’s Task Force is requesting comments on regulations that eliminate jobs or stifle their creation, impose costs that exceed benefits, implement Executive Orders or other Presidential directives that have been rescinded or modified, or are otherwise ineffective or outdated.  Comments will be accepted through May 15.

The federal appellate court hearing the appeal of EPA’s “Section 111(b)” regulations establishing a carbon capture and storage “new source performance standard” for new coal-fueled electric generating stations has today suspended the April 17, 2017 date for oral argument in the case.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.…

Flanked by two dozen coal miners, Vice President Mike Pence, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, and joined by various coal state congressmen and industry executives, President Trump visited EPA headquarters yesterday to sign a long-anticipated Executive Order to end the previous administration’s so-called “war on coal.”

Yesterday, the EPA withdrew its request seeking data from the oil and gas industry on methane emissions from existing oil and gas operations, effective March 2, 2017.  The 2016 information collection request (ICR) required more than 15,000 owners and operators to provide detailed information about types of equipment, methane sources and emission control devices or practices at oil and gas facilities in the United States.  In a brief notice, EPA stated its desire to assess the need for the information targeted by the ICR and reduce burdens on businesses while assessing that need.  EPA also highlighted the receipt of a letter from nine state Attorneys General and the Governors of Mississippi and Kentucky expressing their concerns with the burdens imposed on businesses by the ICR.

Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reinstated an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforcement action against DTE Energy (DTE) for violating the New Source Review (NSR) program under the Clean Air Act.  This case stems from capital projects undertaken at DTE’s Monroe Power Plant in Monroe, Michigan during a three-month scheduled outage in 2010.  DTE had characterized the projects performed during the 2010 outage as routine maintenance, repair and replacement activities, which, if accurate, would exempt them from NSR.

Consistent with past changes in presidential administrations, on President Trump’s Inauguration Day, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus issued a “claw back” memo describing the process of reconsidering previously finalized regulations. Similar to memos issued by President Obama and President Bush, President Trump’s claw back memo speaks to three specific groups of rules: