REDOIL, et al v. EPA, No. 12-70518 (9th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseAt issue in this appeal was the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) properly upheld two air permits authorizing exploratory drilling operations in the Arctic Ocean by a drillship and its associated fleet of support vessels. The petition for review challenged two aspects of the permits: (1) the determination that supported vessels, unlike the drillship itself, did not require the best available control technology (BACT) to control emissions; and (2) the exemption of the area within a 500-meter radius of the drillship from ambient air quality standards. The court denied the petition, holding that the EPA's interpretation of 42 U.S.C. 7627 was reasonable and that the EPA's grant of a 500 meter ambient air exemption was not plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the agency's regulations.
Court Description: Environmental Law. The panel denied a petition for review, and upheld a decision of the Environmental Protection Agency granting two air permits authorizing exploratory drilling operations in the Arctic Ocean by a drillship and its associated fleet of support vessels. The panel upheld the EPA’s statutory and regulatory interpretations. Specifically, the panel held that the Clean Air Act is ambiguous as to the applicability of the best available control emissions to support vessels not attached to an Outer Continental Shelf source, and concluded under Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. NRDC, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984), deference that the EPA’s construction of the statute was permissible and reasonable. The panel also held that the EPA’s grant of a 500 meter ambient air exemption was not plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the EPA’s regulations.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on April 23, 2013.
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