Two federal appeals court judges chose this week to leave an air pollution rule in place, despite objections from a third, Trump-appointed judge.
On Thursday, Judge Justin Walker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said it was a mistake to allow a rule limiting hazardous air pollution from iron and steel manufacturing to remain on the books while it is challenged in court. EPA likely violated federal law and the rule should be stopped to avoid imposing “unrecoverable” compliance costs to the industry, Walker said.
“Absent a stay, the Final Rule will likely cause irreparable harm by forcing applicants to develop novel technology. To develop that technology, the applicants must start spending money now to get in compliance within 1 to 3 years (as the Final Rule requires),” he said in a dissent of a D.C. Circuit order denying industry requests to temporarily freeze the rule.
But Judge Cornelia Pillard, an Obama appointee, and Judge Florence Pan, a Biden pick, elected to leave the rule in place pending a court decision in a consolidated challenge from the steel-producing companies Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and U.S. Steel Corp.
