Federal judges rejected a bid by environmental groups to throw out a stopgap EPA rule that benefits two major steelmakers, meaning that a protracted court fight likely lies ahead.
In an order Friday, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rebuffed the groups’ motion to vacate the “interim final rule” that delays implementation of stricter hazardous air pollution regulations for U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs.
“The merits of the parties’ positions are not so clear as to warrant summary action,” the panel wrote in the per curiam order, adding that the challengers had also not satisfied the stringent requirements to put the rule on hold while litigation plays out.
The lawsuit, brought in July by the Pennsylvania-based Clean Air Council and four other challengers, contests EPA’s decision to give the two companies until April 2027 to meet stricter regulatory standards originally set to take effect this year and next.
