The Trump administration is trying to buy more time to figure out its approach to the Biden-era rule putting polluters on the hook for “forever chemicals” cleanups.
Justice Department attorneys representing EPA filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit late Thursday afternoon asking for a further 45 days to figure out their approach.
“EPA’s new leadership is currently still in the process of reviewing the issues presented in this case, evaluating the Rule within the broader context of EPA’s comprehensive strategy to address PFOA and PFOS, and developing EPA’s position on how to proceed in this litigation,” wrote Adam Gustafson, acting assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, in the motion.
The federal court has already granted three of the administration’s requests to hold proceedings in abeyance: on Feb. 24 for 60 days, on April 30 for 30 days and on June 2 for 30 days.
