ELR Citation: 54 ELR 20121
No(s). 23-1173 (D.C. Cir. Aug 16, 2024)

The D.C. Circuit granted in part and denied in part a trade group's petition to review the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA's) 2022 revised safety standards for natural gas transportation. The group challenged five of the standards, alleging flaws in the rulemaking process and inadequacies in PHMSA's final justifications. The court agreed that PHMSA failed to adequately explain why benefits of four of the final standards outweighed their costs, but found the agency properly promulgated the fifth standard concerning pipeline segments. It vacated the four standards based on PHMSA's inadequate final analyses.