Court rejects Trump's delay of EPA drilling pollution rule
Court rejects Trump's delay of EPA drilling pollution rule
By Timothy Cama - 07/03/17 01:40 PM EDT
The Trump administration cannot delay an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule limiting methane pollution from oil and natural gas drilling, a federal court ruled Monday.
In an early court loss for President Trumps aggressive agenda of environmental deregulation, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the EPA didnt meet the requirements for a two-year stay of the Obama administrations methane rule.
The decision means the EPA must immediately start enforcing the standards.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitts decision to delay enforcement of the provision was based on arguments that when the Obama administration wrote the rule, it violated procedures by not allowing stakeholders to comment on some parts of what became the final regulation. The agency used that reasoning to formally reconsider the rule and to pause enforcement.
But the court said the argument doesnt withstand scrutiny.
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http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/340536-court-rejections-trumps-delay-of-epa-drilling-pollution-rule