ELR Citation: 52 ELR 20097
No(s). 21-1140 (D.C. Cir. Aug 12, 2022)

The D.C. Circuit dismissed an oil company's petition to review EPA's response concerning the decommissioning status of two oil platforms off the California coast. The company initially asked EPA for guidance on whether, as the process moves forward, the platforms would cease to qualify as regulated sources under the CAA, and the Agency responded in a January 2021 letter that they would cease to be outer continental shelf (OCS) sources following completion of the pre-abandonment and abandonment phases. EPA then sent a second letter in April 2021 revising its position and explaining that the January letter did not sufficiently evaluate the possibility that additional activity used to dismantle the platforms might be classified as an OCS source under certain conditions. The company petitioned for review of EPA's April letter, arguing it was inconsistent with the CAA. EPA moved to dismiss, asserting that the letter was not final agency action and that venue lies only in the Ninth Circuit. The court determined that it could dismiss the petition on venue grounds without first deciding whether the letter constituted final agency action, and concluded that the letter was "locally or regionally applicable" rather than "nationally applicable," such that the company's challenge belongs in the Ninth Circuit.