Yazzie v. USEPA, No. 14-73100 (9th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CasePetitioners sought review of the EPA's federal implementation plan (FIP) under the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. 7401, for the Navajo Generating Station in Arizona. The FIP was promulgated under the EPA's Tribal Authority Rule (TAR) that governs CAA requirements on tribal lands. The court concluded that the federal government's partial ownership of the Station does not eliminate any deference to the EPA's interpretation of the CAA and its implementing regulations; the EPA reasonably interpreted the TAR and the Regional Haze Regulations to conclude that the emission reductions deadline in 40 C.F.R. 51.308(e)(2)(iii) does not apply to FIPs for regional haze that are promulgated in place of tribal implementation plans (TIPs); the court deferred to the EPA's determination that the FIP alternative was "better than BART" for nitrous oxide emissions; and the EPA's decision not to determine best available retrofit technology (BART) for particulate matter was a reasonable exercise of the EPA's discretion under the TAR. Accordingly, the court denied the petitions for review.
Court Description: Environmental Law The panel denied petitions for review brought by tribal conservation organizations and non-profit environmental organizations challenging the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s source-specific federal implementation plan (“FIP”) under the Clean Air Act for the Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Arizona. The panel held that the federal government’s partial ownership of the Station did not eliminate any deference to the EPA’s interpretation of the Clean Air Act and its implementing regulations. The Clean Air Act invites States to submit to the EPA a State Implementation Plan setting forth emission limits and other measures to improve air visibility. If a State elects not to submit a State Implementation Plan, or the EPA rejects the State’s plan, the EPA must generate a FIP to fill any resulting gaps. Regional haze State Implementation Plans must identify the “best available retrofit technology”
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