New York v. Environmental Protection Agency

The D.C. Circuit vacated EPA's denial of New York's petition concerning cross-border pollution from nine upwind states. The state had asked EPA to find that power-generating and other facilities in the nine states were violating the CAA's "good neighbor" provision by producing emissions that contributed significantly to New York's difficulty attaining or maintaining compliance with the 2008 and 2015 ozone NAAQS. EPA denied the state's petition on the ground that it failed to meet the Agency's standard for establishing a violation of the provision and demonstrating that cost-effective controls could be imposed on the pollution sources. New York petitioned the court for review, and the court found that EPA offered insufficient reasoning for "the convoluted and seemingly unworkable showing it demanded of New York's petition." It further held the Agency's finding that New York did not have an air quality problem under the 2008 NAAQS relied on faulty interpretations of the CAA that have since been invalidated. It therefore vacated EPA's decision and remanded for further proceedings.