ELR Citation: ELR 20181
No(s). 04-1438 (D.C. Cir. Aug 29, 2006)

The court denies a petition to review a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule implementing a critical use exemption for methyl bromide, an ozone-depleting substance. An environmental group argues that the rule violates post-treaty decisions made by party nations to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer. That decision concerned the U.S. ability to produce a level of methyl bromide necessary to satisfy critical uses. But side agreements reached after a treaty has been ratified are not binding law. They are enforceable not through the federal courts, but through international negotiation. Thus, because EPA's rule does not violate the Clean Air Act, the group's petition for review is denied.

[A prior decision in this litigation is digested at 36 ELR 20051.]