OAKLAND (CN) – The Trump administration can no longer delay enforcement of Obama-era rules aimed at curbing hazardous air pollution from landfills in California and across the nation, a federal judge has ruled – and took the rare step of demanding status reports every 90 days until the plans are in place.
U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to meet strict deadlines going forward as it finalizes plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from solid-waste landfills.
Gilliam found it undisputed that the U.S. produces 265 million tons of solid waste each year, spewing a mix of planet-warming methane and 30 other toxic gases known to cause health problems such as asthma.
Under an Obama-era rule finalized in August 2016, the EPA was required to issue findings on state plans to limit landfill emissions by Sept. 30, 2017. The agency was also tasked with creating a federal pollution-curbing plan for states that failed to submit plans or had their proposals rejected by Nov. 30, 2017.
Gilliam found the EPA had a mandatory duty to meet those deadlines, and he rejected claims that California and seven other states lacked standing to enforce the legal requirements in court.
Citing the 2007 Supreme Court case, Massachusetts v. EPA, Gilliam concluded states can sue the federal government for failing to regulate emissions that contribute to climate change.
The EPA told Gilliam it would take four months to finalize pollution-curbing plans for New Mexico, Delaware and West Virginia. The agency said it would take five or more additional months to finalize plans for Arizona and California.
California and the other states argued President Donald Trump's proposal to slash EPA's budget by 31% next fiscal year undermined its argument that it is currently short-staffed and needs more time.
Gilliam found the Trump budget request irrelevant as to whether the agency currently has adequate resources to meet the proposed deadlines. He concluded the government lacked a "satisfactory explanation" to justify delays beyond four months for acting on existing state plans.
He ordered the EPA to approve or reject existing state plans for curbing landfill emissions by Sept. 6, 2019, and to finalize a federal plan for reducing landfill air pollution by Nov. 6, 2019. Gilliam also ordered the agency to submit progress reports to the court every 90 days beginning in August.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra praised the ruling as a victory for clean air and for vulnerable adults and children who tend to live closer to landfills and experience the brunt of health problems from toxic emissions.
“Once again, we’ve held the EPA accountable for its failure to perform its mandatory duties under the Clean Air Act, and for its unwillingness to protect public health," Becerra said in a statement Monday.
An EPA spokesman said the agency is still reviewing the decision.
California, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont sued the Trump administration for failing to enforce the landfill emissions rule in May last year.
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