Court Rebukes EPA for Shelving Obama-Era Methane Regulation

A federal appeals court rebuked the EPA for unilaterally suspending Obama-era methane emissions regulations, criticizing the “flimsiness” of its arguments and bringing the regulations back into effect.

The Washington-based panel’s 2–1 majority July 3 called the Environmental Protection Agency’s move both unauthorized and unreasonable. It granted a request from six environmental groups to overturn an EPA decision that stopped enforcement of the methane regulations for three months (Clean Air Council v. Pruitt, D.C. Cir., No. 17-1145, 7/3/17).

The court ruling is the latest blow to President Donald Trump, who has been pushing the roll back of ...