60 F.4th 1008
6th Cir.2023Background
- The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires EPA-set NAAQS and state State Implementation Plans (SIPs) that the EPA approves; approved SIP provisions are federally enforceable and subject to citizen suits.
- Ohio’s Air Nuisance Rule (ANR), prohibiting emissions that endanger public health or property, was incorporated into Ohio’s SIP in 1974 and revised in 1984 and 2015.
- In 2019–2020 the EPA, invoking the CAA’s error-correction provision (42 U.S.C. § 7410(k)(6)), concluded its 1970s–80s approvals had been in “error” and removed the ANR from Ohio’s SIP, reasoning ANR lacked a nexus to NAAQS implementation, maintenance, or enforcement.
- Petitioners (Sierra Club, Ohio Environmental Council, Ballinger, Wall) had relied on the ANR for notices, comments, and prospective citizen suits; they challenged the removal as an improper use of § 7410(k)(6) and arbitrary and capricious.
- The Sixth Circuit held Petitioners have standing (both injury-in-fact and procedural-injury theories) and granted review; the court remanded the EPA’s removal for further agency consideration but declined to vacate the removal while EPA reevaluates.
Issues
| Issue | Petitioners' Argument | EPA's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standing — injury and redressability | Removal denies Petitioners the ability to use federally enforceable ANR to remedy concrete recreational, aesthetic, and health harms; vacatur would redress those harms | Redress is speculative because relief depends on third-party behavior and alternative claims remain | Court: Petitioners established injury-in-fact and redressability; standing satisfied (including associational standing) |
| Procedural injury — loss of federal forum/citizen-suit right | Removing ANR from SIP deprives Petitioners of a procedural right to sue in federal court under CAA and harms concrete interests | Petitioners can still sue in state court or under other CAA provisions; no protected interest in federal adjudication of state-law nuisance | Court: State remedies are not an adequate substitute for CAA citizen suits; procedural injury established |
| Use of § 7410(k)(6) (error-correction) to remove ANR | EPA misapplied § 7410(k)(6); ANR historically used in SIP enforcement and its approval was not an “error” | EPA has discretion under § 7410(k)(6) to correct prior SIP approvals made in error, and many 1970s–80s approvals had minimal review | Court did not decide merits; remanded for EPA reconsideration of whether error-correction was appropriate |
| Remedy — remand with or without vacatur | Petitioners sought vacatur (reinstatement) or at least a prompt proposed rule; vacatur needed to prevent ongoing injury | EPA requested remand without vacatur, promising to complete review within 12 months and arguing vacatur would be disruptive | Court: Voluntary remand without vacatur granted; vacatur denied as premature because EPA may be able to justify the removal on remand and will act expeditiously |
Key Cases Cited
- Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Env’t Servs. (TOC), 528 U.S. 167 (2000) (environmental plaintiffs establish injury by alleging use and aesthetic/recreational impairment)
- Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (1992) (procedural-right standing principles; procedural rights protect concrete interests)
- Sierra Club v. EPA, 793 F.3d 656 (6th Cir. 2015) (summary-judgment degree of evidence for standing in agency-review cases)
- Ky. Res. Council, Inc. v. EPA, 467 F.3d 986 (6th Cir. 2006) (SIP/NAAQS framework and SIP enforceability)
- Nat’l Parks Conservation Ass’n, Inc. v. Tenn. Valley Auth., 480 F.3d 410 (6th Cir. 2007) (SIP provisions determine what conduct is actionable under the CAA)
- Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n v. State Farm, 463 U.S. 29 (1983) (APA arbitrary-and-capricious review standard)
- Allied-Signal, Inc. v. U.S. Nuclear Regul. Comm’n, 988 F.2d 146 (D.C. Cir. 1993) (factors for whether vacatur is appropriate when remanding agency action)