This Article briefly describes a new basis for the objection that EPA has employed whereby operating permits can be delayed for significant periods of time without the expenditure of significant resources by EPA or environmental groups. In many cases, its use has shifted resource-intensive enforcement questions to the states.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency embarked on an ambitious schedule of air pollution rulemaking following the vacatur of several Bush Administration rulemakings. The “transport rule” seeks to cap interstate emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) from power plants to replace the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR).