What's A Court To Do When EPA Misses A Statutory Deadline?

Earlier this week, a divided 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed entry of a consent decree between the Sierra Club and EPA, resolving litigation over EPA's failure to promulgate attainment designations for the sulfur dioxide NAAQS under the Clean Air Act.

I would have thought that entry of the settlement would be fairly straightforward.  EPA misses deadlines with some regularity.  Persons sue over such failures with some regularity.  EPA then agrees to schedules with some regularity.  Here, EPA agreed to a schedule – albeit one that purports to give it seven (7) extra years to make the required designations.  The Sierra Club, for its part, agreed not to sue EPA again over the designations, so long as EPA keeps to the schedule.