EPA and Chemical Industry in Settlement Talks Over Waste Recovery Rule

Date: July 18, 2016

Source: News Room

EPA and the chemical industry are in settlement talks over litigation challenging an agency rule to reduce air toxics from off-site waste and recovery operations. The lawsuit "American Chemistry Council (ACC) v. EPA" filed in May 2015, sought judicial review of EPA's national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for reducing air toxics from off-site waste and recovery operations. Those include facilities that handle used oil, used solvent or waste, including hazardous waste treatment and storage facilities, chemical plants and refineries. The NESHAP rule removes an emissions limit exemption for periods of startup, shutdown and malfunction, bars emissions releases from pressure relief devices (PRDs), among other things. ACC petitioned EPA to reconsider aspects of the rule. In response, EPA gave notice it would reconsider one portion of the rule with regard to PRDs. As a result, both petitioners and EPA filed a joint motion July 14 asking the court to hold the suitin abeyance to allow settlement negotiations to continue and on July 18 a federal appellate court granted the joint motion to continue to stay the lawsuit.

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