National Steel Corp. v. Environmental Protection Agency

No. 82-3225 & consolidated cases (3d Cir. March 3, 1983)

ELR Digest

The Third Circuit approves a settlement agreement between the steel industry, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) resolving lawsuits over Federal Water Pollution Control Act effluent limitations for the iron and steel manufacturing point source category. Under the agreement, EPA must propose and take final action on a number of amendments to the regulations as set forth in Exhibit A of the agreement, which include revisions to the effluent limitations for discharges from sinter plants, iron blast furnaces, cold worked pipes, hot coating operations, and acid pickling operations. EPA also agrees to amend the general pretreatment regulations. The agreement also clarifies the parties' rights and responsibilities concerning fundamentally different factors variances from applicable effluent limitations. The parties agree that if the general pretreatment case, Interlake, Inc. v. EPA, No. 82-2150 (3d Cir.), consolidated under National Association of Metal Finishers v. EPA, No. 79-2256 (3d Cir.), is remanded, any party may petition EPA to vacate or extend the effective date or compliance date of the iron and steel category pretreatment standards. The Agency agrees to take final action on a revised water bubble provision, set forth in Exhibit B, which provides that any pollution trades within a source must result in a net reduction in pollution discharges of at least 15 percent for ordinary pollutants and 10 percent for toxic pollutants. Finally, the agreement, in Exhibit C, adds language to the preamble to many of the revised regulations.

The full text of this agreement with exhibits is available from ELR (40 pp. $5.50, ELR Order No. C-1293).

Counsel for Petititoners
R. Sarah Compton
Collier, Shannon, Rill & Scott
1055 Thomas Jefferson St. N.W., Washington DC 20007
(202) 342-8400

Peter G. Veeder, Dean A. Calland
Thorp, Reed & Armstrong
2900 Grant Bldg., Pittsburgh PA 15219
(412) 288-7711

James T. Harrington, Disie L. Laswell, Edward P. Kenney
Rooks, Pitts, Fullager & Poust
55 W. Monroe St., Suite 1500, Chicago IL 60603
(312) 372-5600

Robert M. Landis
Dechert, Price & Rhoads
3400 Center Sq. W., 1500 Market St., Philadelphia PA 19102
(215) 972-3400

Charles J. Bloom
Hunt, Kerr, Bloom, Hitchner, O'Brien & Conrad
Drexel Bldg., 15th & Walnut Sts., Philadelphia PA 19102
(215) 864-0800

Counsel for Respondent
J. Daniel Berry
Office of General Counsel
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC 20460
(202) 382-7706

Barry S. Neuman
Land and Natural Resources Division
Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 633-2810

Counsel for Intervenor-Respondent
Alan S. Miller, J. Taylor Banks
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
1725 I St. NW, Washington DC 20006
(202) 223-8210

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]