In July 2006, under the previous Bush administration, EPA had ordered drycleaners located in residential buildings, or “co-located” plants, to phase-out perc use by 2020; cleaners operating in other types of buildings were required to use devices to detect leaks and reduce emissions.
The appellate court was scheduled to hear the case on 14 May 2009, but rather than defend the previous perc regulation, EPA has now asked the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to postpone arguments on the case so that it can reconsider the regulations on policy and legal grounds.
EPA has asked permission to leave the previous rule in place while the review is carried out.
The Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance (HSIA) and industry representatives have argued that EPA does not have the supporting data or the statutory authority to mandate a phase-out.
On the issue of co-residential cleaners, they claim EPA's inclusion of risk considerations in establishing technology standards violates the agency's Clean Air Act authority.
"We're encouraged that EPA has finally recognised that its treatment of co-residential cleaners is indefensible and look forward to EPA's revision of the rule to take into account 'developments in practices, processes, and control technologies' as the law requires,” says HSIA's Steve Risotto.
“On the current record, there was no basis for EPA to distinguish between the technology available to co-residential cleaners and that available to others. With the support of the drycleaners and allied trades, we are confident that the evidence submitted during the reopened rulemaking will demonstrate even more forcefully that a perc phase-out cannot be supported."
