The Respondents in this case are Natural Resource Defense Council, Inc., Citizens for e Better Environment, Inc., and North Western Ohio Lung Association, Inc. The Petitioners in the case are Chevron U.S.A Inc., American Iron and Steel Institute, American Petroleum Institute, Chemical Manufacturers Association, Inc., General Motor Corp., and Rubber Manufacturers Association.
II. LOWER COURT DECISION
The Respondent (Natural Resource Defense Council) filed a petition for a review of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Bubble statue. The Court of Appeals determined that while the Clean Air Act did not explicitly define stationary sources, the plantwide or bubble definition was inappropriate as applied to the nonattainment program and ruled in favor of the Petitioners (Chevron U.S.A Inc.). The court concluded that, in view of the purpose of the nonattainment program to improve rather that merely maintain air quality. The plantwide definition was inappropriate, while stating it mandatory in programs designed to maintain existing air quality.
United States
United States
United StatesIII. FACTS
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 impose certain requirements on States that have not achieved the national air quality standards established by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). For those States that could not reach the requirement of the Clean Air Act there were known as Nonattainment States. The nonattainment States were issued permit by the EPA regulating new or modify major stationary sources of air pollution.
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) regulations promulgated in 1981 to implement the permit requirement allow States to adopt a plantwide definition of the term Stationary Source, under which an existing plant that contains several polluting emitting devices in a single plant can install or modify one piece of equipment without meeting the permit conditions as long as the total emission within the bubble did not increased. This was called bubble.
IV. ANALSIS
The issue before the...