In an opinion filed July 21, 2015, two legal challenges to multiple aspects of EPA’s 2012 revised National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) governing chromium electroplating and anodizing facilities were consolidated and denied in their entirety by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The EPA had revised the chromium NESHAP following residual risk and technology reviews, which the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires 8 years after promulgation of a NESHAP.
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Environmental groups claimed that the revised NESHAP is too lax because the EPA ignored relevant information and impermissibly considered costs in revising the standards.
The rule was also challenged by the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF), which argued that the revision was too stringent. According to the NASF, the Agency’s decision to use the rule to phase out fume suppressants containing the toxic compound perfluorooctyl sulfonate (PFOS) was not adequately supported. Read more.