ELR Citation: ELR 20271
No(s). 08-1225 (D.C. Cir. Nov 24, 2009)

The D.C. Circuit held that North Carolina lacks standing to challenge an EPA rule removing the northern part of the state of Georgia from the Agency's one-hour nitrogen oxide (NOx) SIP Call. North Carolina claims that NOx emissions from electric generating units in northern Georgia are significantly contributing to North Carolina's inability to attain the 1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS due to Georgia's non-inclusion in the one-hour NOx SIP Call. The state, however, lacks Article III standing. If Georgia had been subject to the NOx SIP Call, Georgia would have used "compliance supplement pool" credits to comply with the NOx emissions cap and would not have needed to lower its emissions to meet the requirements of the NOx SIP Call. Reincluding northern Georgia in the NOx SIP Call, therefore, is not likely to redress North Carolina's difficulty in meeting the eight-hour ozone standard. North Carolina's claim, therefore, is not redressable.