ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20137
No(s). 18-60384 (5th Cir. May 29, 2020)

The Fifth Circuit upheld EPA's decision to reject a challenge to a CAA Title V permit it issued for expansion of a plant in Baytown, Texas. Environmental groups requested that EPA reject the permit on the grounds that the underlying Title I preconstruction permit allowing the expansion was invalid. EPA rejected the groups' request, explaining that the Title V permitting process was not the appropriate vehicle for re-examining the substantive validity of underlying Title I preconstruction permits. The groups then petitioned for review of EPA's decision. The court concluded that EPA's interpretation of the Title V program was independently persuasive and thus entitled to deference, and therefore denied the group's petition.