Posted on October 4, 2010 by Brian Rosenthal
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), how long must an operator worry whether a citizen suit will be filed claiming its facility construction modification triggered Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit requirements? The answer may depend on when and where the modification occurred. If a company violates its duty to obtain a preconstruction permit under the CAA’s PSD permitting requirement, it may be subject to a later citizen suit for failing to operate with a proper permit or failing to incorporate best available control technology (BACT). The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit joins the Eleventh Circuit by concluding the CAA’s PSD provisions are reviewed when construction or modification is initiated and are not ongoing, operating requirements. While there is no statute of limitations for CAA citizen suit actions, the general federal five year limit applies from claim accrual. Thus, in the reviewed case because the last challenged modification was constructed more than five years before the filed citizen suit, the court found the citizen suit untimely. PSD permits are for construction and do not set operating requirements. BACT and PSD go “hand in hand”, so because PSD permitting could not be timely claimed, neither could the claim as to control technology be sustained. Operators in the Sixth Circuit however may not be so safe—that circuit has held State Implementation Plan (SIP) regulations contain operating requirements, but hold the claim in Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio–the Sixth Circuit contrary case may be limited to Tennessee or any other state with an SIP allowing for permit issuance post-construction. Sierra Club v. Otter Tail Power Co., No. 09-2862 (8th Cir. August 11, 2010).
Tags: Air