EPA Proposes To Eliminate Affirmative Defenses For Many Clean Air Act Violations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule on September 5, 2014 that would prevent states from including affirmative defenses in their Clean Air Act state implementation plans (SIPs) for emissions exceedances that occur during startup, shutdown and malfunction (SSM) periods.  The proposal would also require several states to revise their existing SIPs so as to conform with EPA's new approach to affirmative defenses.

EPA's proposal modifies an earlier February 2013 proposal and arises from a Sierra Club petition asking EPA to revise roughly 40 different SIPs.  Under the new proposal, EPA would largely grant Sierra Club's petition rather than granting it only as to certain types of affirmative defenses, as EPA had previously proposed.   A list of the states affected by the proposed rule can be found on EPA's rulemaking website.  If the rule is finalized as proposed, those states will have 18 months from the date of the final rule to submit