Exemptions for sudden pollution releases during facility startup, shutdown, and malfunction generally won’t be subject to approval under state air plans, according to new EPA guidance.
Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe on Thursday revoked Trump-era guidance that allowed greater leeway for sudden emission events to be automatically exempted from Clean Air Act requirements.
The move is a return to a 2015 Obama-era policy on sudden releases. Now, State Implementation Plans that exempt startup, shutdown, and malfunction pollution releases from air emission limits or include “affirmative defense” for those emissions “would not generally be approvable,” according to the EPA. ...