Appellate Panel Faults EPA’s ELG Plan But Wrestles With Jurisdiction

A three-judge appellate panel is criticizing EPA’s process for developing its biennial effluent limitation guidelines (ELG) “Program Plan” and selecting years-old ELGs for updates, though during Dec. 5 oral arguments they wrestled with whether the document is a final agency action subject to judicial review and appellate jurisdiction. Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit questioned the agency’s argument that its Program Plan 15 is not judicially reviewable because it is not a “final...