A federal appellate court won’t revisit an earlier ruling that gave industrial air polluters more leverage in fending off enforcement actions for certain permit violations.
In an order issued Friday, the complement of 11 active judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied advocacy groups’ request for en banc rehearing of last September’s unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel. Joining them was Senior Judge Douglas Ginsburg, who was part of that panel.
The denial means that the panel’s ruling will stand, barring the improbable possibility of a successful appeal to the Supreme Court.
Seeking the do-over were California Communities Against Toxics, the Natural Resources Defense Council and three other organizations. They argued that the panel erred in reviving the legal shield known as “affirmative defense” for unpermitted emissions resulting from emergencies at refineries, paper mills and other major pollution sources.
