The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated EPA's new source performance standard for modified boilers on September 21, 1999 in the matter of Lignite Energy Council v. The Environmental Protection Agency.
On September 16, 1998, EPA issued a final rule which revised the nitrogen oxide emission standard from new fossil-fuel fires steam-generating units constructed, modified, or reconstructed after July 9, 1997. In Lignite, the appellants - Lignite Energy Council, Appalachian Power Co., and the National Mining Association - argued that, in its rule-making, EPA failed to explain why modified boilers should be required to meet the revised standard and what the cost would be. Because of this failure, appellants argued that EPA should have exempted modified boilers from the revised standard. The court agreed with appellants and vacated the revised nitrogen oxide emission standard as applied to modified or reconstructed boilers. Lignite Energy Council v. The Environmental Protection Agency, Docket No. 98-1525, decided September 21, 1999.
