ELR Citation: ELR 20562
No(s). 88-0924 (M.D. Pa. Nov 28, 1989)

The court holds that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not authorized under the Clean Air Act's prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) provisions to pursue an enforcement action against a source that has complied with a permit from an authorized state agency, even though EPA contends that the permit was improperly issued. EPA's authority to charge a source with a violation under the Act is limited to violations of quantifiable emission standards. A source should not be held liable for a decision that was not within its control. The court's construction of the Act's PSD provisions does not deprive EPA of its oversight ability where states do not comply with the Act. EPA could have proceeded against the state under §167 after the state issued the PSD permit. EPA may have also had the option of pursuing a §113 enforcement action against the state.

[Previous decisions in this ligitation are published at 19 ELR 21088 and 21091.]

Counsel for Plaintiff
Leslie Anne Guinan
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
841 Chestnut St., Philadelphia PA 19107
(215) 597-9800

Counsel for Defendant
Harold Kurland
Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle
1300 Lincoln First Tower, P.O. Box 1051, Rochester NY 14603
(716) 546-8000