EPA Removal of Sudden Emissions Provision in Legal Crosshairs

The EPA continued its defense of systematic efforts to scrap sudden pollution exemptions during Tuesday oral arguments with industry petitioners at the D.C. Circuit.

An industry trade association and the Environmental Protection Agency battled over startup, shutdown, and malfunction provisions, or SSM, which give facilities some legal leeway to avoid liability if a sudden spike of emissions occurs over permitted limits due to an event like a malfunction.

At the helm of the challenge is the SSM Litigation Group, an informal collection of trade groups and businesses who ...