EPA Removes Exemptions for Emissions During Startup, Shutdown and Malfunctions
On May 22, 2015, USEPA issued a final rule that clarifies their position on exemptions and affirmative defenses to emissions during startup, shutdown and malfunction events. (“SSM”). This rule is a response to a petition filed by Sierra Club to require EPA to invalidate certain provisions of state implementation plans (“SIPs”), including Ohio’s, following the D.C. Circuit’s recent decision that Clean Air Act (“CAA”) emissions limits must apply “continuously.”[1] In this rule,
Local government’s authority to regulate fracking minimized, but not eliminated
On February 17th, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in Beck Energy v. Munroe Falls that local governments can not impose separate permitting requirements for oil and gas production activities.[1] A local Munroe Falls ordinance required a “conditional zoning permit” for excavation or construction and four other city ordinances imposed specific requirements on activities involved with oil & gas, including hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). Beck Energy received a drilling permit from
