EPA Response to Judicial Stay Orders
In two 2023 actions, in response to judicial orders partially staying a separate EPA action, EPA issued two interim final rules temporarily amending the Good Neighbor Plan to implement the orders and stay the rule’s requirements to mitigate interstate air pollution with respect to the 2015 ozone NAAQS for covered facilities in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia starting with the 2023 ozone season.
On June 27, 2024, the United States Supreme Court granted emergency applications seeking a stay of the Good Neighbor Plan pending judicial review. On October 29, the Agency issued a third interim final rule responding to the Supreme Court’s order by further temporarily amending the Good Neighbor Plan to administratively stay the effectiveness of its requirements for covered facilities in the remaining 11 states for which an administrative stay was not already implemented under the two previous interim final rules starting with the 2024 ozone season: California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. In addition, the D.C. Circuit has granted EPA a voluntary partial remand of the record of the Good Neighbor Plan to enable EPA to more fully respond to certain comments identified by the Supreme Court.
The three interim final rules include provisions designed to ensure that states’ obligations to address interstate ozone pollution with respect to the 2008 ozone NAAQS under two prior rules, the CSAPR Update and the Revised CSAPR Update, continue to be met while the effectiveness of the Good Neighbor Plan’s requirements is stayed.
Find more information on EPA’s response to the court orders in the materials below.
- Interim Final Rule Responding to Stay Order for Good Neighbor Plan
- Fact Sheet: Interim Final Rule Responding to Stay Order for Good Neighbor Plan (pdf)
- Policy Concerning U.S. Supreme Court Grant of Applications to Stay the Good Neighbor Plan and Continuing Requirements for Emissions Sources Covered by the CSAPR Update and Revised CSAPR Update (pdf)
- Interim Final Rule: Response to Additional Judicial Stays of SIP Disapproval Action for Certain States
- Fact Sheet: EPA’s “Good Neighbor Plan” Response to Comply with Stay Orders Pending Judicial Review (pdf)
- Notice of Forthcoming EPA Action to Address Additional Judicial Stay Orders (pdf)
- Interim Final Rule Amending GNP in Response to Stay Orders
- Interim Final Rule Fact Sheet (pdf)
- Notice of Forthcoming EPA Action to Address Judicial Stay Orders (pdf)