The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rapid schedule for finalizing its greenhouse gas (GHG) endangerment finding rescission could exacerbate the effort’s legal vulnerability, observers say. Such a timeline could potentially further imperil the sweeping move to deregulate GHGs that sources have already characterized as a high-risk venture.
Former EPA air chief and Bracewell partner Jeff Holmstead deemed it a “manageable task” for EPA to respond to relevant comments in the reported timeframe, as quoted by Inside EPA.
“Where I do think the issues emerge” with respect to legal risk is “the responsiveness to the mass of comments received,” Holmstead said, as well as how thorough EPA is in explaining its decision to “change its mind on endangerment after over 15 years.”
