A trash industry trade group in an unusual lawsuit is taking aim at a court-ordered update to EPA’s approach to estimating landfill emissions.
The suit, filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week by the National Waste and Recycling Association, challenges the “emissions factors” update released in mid-August for calculating releases of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other pollutants from municipal solid waste landfills.
Typically for a Clean Air Act filing at this stage, the suit does not spell out the grounds. But the organization, together with the Solid Waste Association of North America, had earlier raised a variety of caveats in comments on a draft version of the update.
EPA describes emissions factors as a “fundamental tool” for tracking air pollutant releases. While an official roster lists factors for more than a dozen industries and other sources, lawsuits contesting specific techniques for a specific industry are rare.
