A federal appellate judge expressed astonishment Oct. 3 at the EPA’s acknowledgment that the agency didn’t seek cuts in smog-forming pollution beyond 2017 in a rule designed to help 22 states meet federal ozone standards.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Judge Patricia A. Millett’s reaction came during oral arguments over the 2016 update to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule that targeted transport of power plant emissions that were driving downwind states out of compliance with national air quality standards. Millett said that was a clear violation of a D.C. Circuit’s 2008 decision in North ...