"D.C. Circuit Grants EPA’s Request To Delay Smog Rule Case"

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the Environmental Protection Agency’s request Tuesday to delay oral argument in a case over its 2015 smog standard, allowing the agency time to reconsider the Obama-era rule.

EPA asked on Friday for the postponement, saying President Trump’s appointees “are closely reviewing the 2015 Rule to determine whether the Agency should reconsider the rule or some part of it.” The new standard, which imposes tighter restrictions on ground-level ozone, was challenged both by several industry groups and Republican-controlled states as too tough and by a coalition of environmental and public health organizations as not stringent enough.

The three-judge panel ordered EPA “to file status reports on the agency’s review of the 2015 Rule at 90-day intervals beginning 90 days from the date of this order,” adding that within “30 days of the agency notifying the court and the parties what action it has or will be taking with respect to the 2015 Rule, the parties are directed to file motions to govern future proceedings in these consolidated cases.”"

Juliet Eilperin reports for the Washington Post April 11, 2017.