EPA’s Pollution Offset Rule Tests Requirements of Clean Air Act

A federal appeals panel will determine whether the Trump administration may allow projects releasing air pollution to include future offsets to possibly avoid a federal review of new facility construction.

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit will hear arguments Friday from green groups, the Environmental Protection Agency, and industry groups over the methodology behind what constitutes a major new air emissions source under the Clean Air Act.

Before industrial facilities such as car factories, steel mills, or chemical plants can be built or modified, the federal government’s new source permitting process reviews the possible impact of the ...