Appeals Court Backs Ethanol-Friendly Air Act Interpretation

A recent federal appeals court decision has backed an EPA interpretation of Clean Air Act rules that could provide a long-term benefit to companies seeking to produce ethanol from municipal waste, by lessening the need under some circumstances for facilities to install state-of-the-art pollution control technologies. Legal experts say the ruling provides a precedent affirming regulators' decision not to regulate as a chemical processing plant a proposed experimental waste-to-ethanol facility -- and perhaps other similar facilities in the future. The...