Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future v. Regan

Background

The court had previously entered a judgment requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to complete mandatory duties under the applicable statute and the decision in Louisiana Environmental Action Network v. EPA. The duties included a technology review for Subpart L and both technology and risk reviews for Subpart CCCCC.

The original deadline was approaching, and EPA, the plaintiffs, and industry representatives agreed that it could not be met. EPA said it needed additional time to collect and interpret data necessary to complete the duties properly. The court also stated that EPA had been very late in completing its congressionally mandated duties and did not appear to have been diligent since the original judgment or its earlier request for more time.

Ruling

The court granted EPA's motion to amend the judgment. It extended the deadline until May 23, 2024, giving EPA the longer of the proposed extensions. The court said the extension was granted reluctantly and out of caution.

The court stated that it would not grant any further extensions. It emphasized that the new deadline applied to the mandatory duties even if EPA pursued a broader discretionary rulemaking. The court suggested that EPA consider parallel rulemakings or another structure that would allow the mandatory duties to be completed separately if the broader rulemaking could not be completed on time.

If EPA missed the final deadline, the court said it would promptly issue an order requiring EPA to explain why it should not be held in contempt and would schedule an in-person hearing at which the EPA Administrator would be required to testify. The court ordered EPA's counsel to provide the order directly to EPA's General Counsel and the Administrator's Chief of Staff and to file a declaration within 14 days certifying that this had been done. Judge Vince Chhabria signed the order.