EPA Affirmation Of Air Permit ‘Reactivation’ Policy Leaves Ambiguity

EPA’s recent move to reaffirm its policy on whether industrial facilities are “reactivated” and therefore require new air permits underscores the agency’s discretion about when to treat plants as “new,” establishing general principles to guide regulators but eschewing any “bright line” test in favor of considering a plant operator’s “intent.” In a decision announced Nov. 17, EPA Administrator Michael Regan and other agency officials said they would require the owners of a shuttered oil refinery on St. Croix, in the...