A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected environmentalists’ legal challenge to an air permitting policy change made in President Donald Trump’s first term.
The change was long-sought by industry, which argued certain permitting rules had stymied many facilities from making upgrades over cost concerns. Environmentalists sued, arguing EPA had introduced a loophole that will let major emitters skirt environmental protections.
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed.
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“The petitioners have not persuaded us that the rule is contrary to law. Nor have they demonstrated that it is arbitrary or capricious,” wrote Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, who led the opinion.
