EPA Deadline Discretion for Ozone Plans Upheld by Fifth Circuit

Texas on Monday failed to convince a federal appeals panel that the Environmental Protection Agency wrongly denied the state’s air quality plan almost 10 years ago.

The petition was denied because “EPA’s procedure complied with the statutory requirements and its reasoning was sound,” the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said.

Texas had alleged the state unfairly waited for the EPA’s response on the state implementation plan, which came about four years after its submission.

The opinion was a rare victory to federal enforcement of the Good Neighbor interstate ozone rule, which concerns pollution that travels across states. ...