INDUSTRY QUESTIONS FAIRNESS OF EPA'S ENVIRONMENTAL APPEALS BOARD

As EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) prepares to hear a precedent-setting stormwater management case, industry attorneys are raising concerns that the board is unlikely to rule against EPA, charging that the board generally acts as a "rubber stamp" for agency permitting and enforcement decisions. While observers differ on whether the board is unfairly biased, there is broad agreement among industry attorneys that the EAB rarely overturns agency decisions on appeal from regulated companies. But EAB Judge Edward Reich told Water...