Clean Air Council v. E. Scott Pruitt

862 F.3d 1, 47 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20084, 2017 WL 2838112, 84 ERC (BNA) 1999, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 11803
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedJuly 3, 2017
Docket17-1145
StatusPublished
Cited by74 cases

This text of 862 F.3d 1 (Clean Air Council v. E. Scott Pruitt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Clean Air Council v. E. Scott Pruitt, 862 F.3d 1, 47 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20084, 2017 WL 2838112, 84 ERC (BNA) 1999, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 11803 (D.C. Cir. 2017).

Opinions

Dissenting Opinion filed by Circuit Judge BROWN.

PER CURIAM:

Petitioners, a group of environmental organizations, challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to stay implementation of portions of a final rule concerning methane and other greenhouse gas emissions. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we conclude that EPA lacked authority under the Clean Air Act to stay the rule, and we therefore grant petitioners’ motion to vacate the stay.

I.

In June 2016, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy issued a final rule establishing “new source performance standards” for fugitive emissions of methane and other pollutants by the oil and natural gas industries. 81 Fed. Reg. 35,824 (June 3, 2016). The methane rule took effect on August 2, 2016, id., and required regulated entities to conduct an “initial monitoring survey” to identify leaks by June 3, 2017, 40 C.F.R. § 60.5397a(f).

After EPA published the rule, several industry groups — including the American Petroleum Institute (API), the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA), and the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) — filed administrative petitions seeking reconsideration under section 307(d)(7)(B) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). 42 U.S.C. § 7607(d)(7)(B); see also 82 Fed. Reg. 25,731 (June 5, 2017). That provision sets forth the circumstances under which [5]*5EPA must reconsider a rule. It provides that “[i]f the person raising an objection can demonstrate to the Administrator that [1] it was impracticable to raise such objection within [the notice and comment period] ... and [2] if such objection is of central relevance to the outcome of the rule, the Administrator shall convene a proceeding for reconsideration of the rule ....” 42 U.S.C. § 7607(d)(7)(B) (emphasis added). The statute also provides that the “effectiveness of the rule may be stayed during such reconsideration, however, by the Administrator or the court for a period not to exceed three months.” Id. The industry associations argued that CAA section 307(d)(7)(B) required EPA to reconsider the final rule because several of its provisions “were not included in the proposed rule and ... [they were therefore unable] to raise an objection during the public comment period.” See, e.g., API, Request for Administrative Reconsideration of EPA’s Final Rule “Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources,” at 1 (Aug. 2, 2016) (“API Reconsideration Request”). They also sought a stay “pending reconsideration.” Id.

By letter dated April 18, 2017, the Administrator, now Scott Pruitt, stated that EPA “[found] that the petitions have raised at least one objection to the fugitive emissions monitoring requirements” that warrants reconsideration “under 307(d)(7)(B) of the CAA.” Letter from E. Scott Pruitt to Howard J. Feldman, Shannon S. Broome, James D. Elliott, & Matt Hite, Convening a Proceeding for Reconsideration, at 2 (Apr. 18, 2017). Accordingly, the Administrator announced, “EPA is convening a proceeding for reconsideration” of two specific provisions of the methane rule. Id. The letter also stated that “EPA intended] to exercise its authority under CAA section 307 to issue a 90-day stay of the compliance date” for the fugitive emissions requirements. Id.

On June 5 — -just two days after the deadline for regulated parties to conduct their first emissions surveys and begin repairing leaks, see 40 C.F.R. § 60.5397a(f) — EPA published a “[n]otice of reconsideration and partial stay” in the Federal Register, 82 Fed. Reg. at 25,730. Relying on CAA section 307(d)(7)(B), EPA granted reconsideration on four aspects of the methane rule: (1) the decision to regulate low-production wells, (2) the process for proving compliance by “alternative means,” (3) the requirement that a professional engineer certify proper design of vent systems, and (4) the decision to exempt pneumatic pumps from regulation only if a professional engineer certified that it was “technically infeasible” to route such pumps “to a control device or a process.” 82 Fed. Reg. at 25,731-32. In addition, the notice “stay[ed] the effectiveness of the fugitive emissions requirements, the standards for pneumatic pumps at well sites, and the certification by a professional engineer requirements” for 90 days “pending reconsideration.” 82 Fed. Reg. at 25,732. The notice explained that the stay had gone into effect on June 2, 2017 — that is, three days before the notice was published in the Federal Register. 82 Fed. Reg. at 25,731.

On June 16, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) announcing its intention to extend the stay “for two years” and to “look broadly at the entire 2016 Rule” during “the reconsideration proceeding.” 82 Fed. Reg. 27,645 (June 16, 2017). Comments on that NPRM are due July 17, or if any party requests a hearing, by August 9. Id.

After EPA suspended implementation of the methane rule, six environmental groups — Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Envi[6]*6ronmental Integrity Project, Earthworks, Glean Air Council, and Sierra Club — filed in this court an “emergency motion for a stay or, in the alternative, summary vaca-tur.” According to Environmental Petitioners, EPA’s stay violates CAA section 307(d)(7)(B) because “all of the issues Administrator Pruitt identified could have been, and actually were, raised (and extensively deliberated) during the comment period.” Environmental Petitioners’ Mot. 5 (emphasis in original). EPA opposes the motion, as do intervenors, a group of oil and gas associations including API, IPAA, and TXOGA. Together, they argue that we lack jurisdiction to review the stay, and that even if it were justiciable, the stay is lawful. We consider these arguments in turn.

II.

We begin with jurisdiction. Both EPA and Industry Intervenors argue that an agency’s decision to grant reconsideration of a rule is unreviewable because it does not constitute “final action” under 42 U.S.C. § 7607(b)(1). EPA Opp. 8; Interve-nors’ Opp. 6. Industry Intervenors argue that for the same reason we lack jurisdiction to review the stay. Intervenors’ Opp. 8.

It is true that an agency’s decision to grant a petition to reconsider a regulation is not reviewable final agency action. See Portland Cement Association v. EPA, 665 F.3d 177, 185 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (noting that review is available “if reconsideration is denied” (emphasis added)). To be “final,” agency action must “mark the consummation of the agency’s decision-making process” and “be one by which rights or obligations have been determined, or from which legal consequences will flow.” Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154, 177-78, 117 S.Ct. 1154, 137 L.Ed.2d 281 (1997) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).

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862 F.3d 1, 47 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20084, 2017 WL 2838112, 84 ERC (BNA) 1999, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 11803, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clean-air-council-v-e-scott-pruitt-cadc-2017.