In an opinion issued August 21, two judges on a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected and vacated EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. This rule was finalized in July, 2011, and required 28 states in the East, Midwest, and South to reduce emissions of SO2 and NOx that cross state lines and worsen air quality in downwind states. "EPA's Transport Rule exceeds the agency's statutory authority in two independent respects," wrote Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the decision. The rule violates the Clean Air Act by requiring states to reduce their emissions by more than their own significant contributions to downwind states' nonattainment of air quality standards, according to the decision. And the agency did not allow states the opportunity to meet their "good neighbor" obligations before imposing its own Federal Implementation Plans, Kavanaugh wrote. The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) was EPA’s attempt to fix an earlier version, the 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which was thrown out by the D.C. Court of Appeals in 2008. Analysts suggested that it would take several years to rewrite the rule rejected on Tuesday. In the meantime, the Court said that “EPA [will] continue to administer CAIR pending its development of a valid replacement.”

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• CSAPR

• Monitoring

• Regulation

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