What Happens After The CAIR Vacatur?

• Pages: 44-45

Page 44 ❧ THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM Copyright © 2008, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org.

Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, Nov./Dec. 2008

THE FORUM

What Happens After

e CAIR Vacatur?

On July 11, the Court of Ap-

peals for the D.C. Circuit

threw virtually all interested a

parties a curve ball by vacating

and remanding EPA’s Clean

Air Interstate Rule. CAIR had been relied

upon by states as an integral component of

their strategies to attain ambient air quality

standards. Companies had made signif‌icant

investments in reliance upon the rule. And

many environmentalists supported the trad-

ing regime meant to clean up air pollution

in downwind states from upwind sources.

Several strategies have been proposed to

deal with the aftermath of the CAIR vaca-

tur, including legislative and judicial f‌ixes.

What is the ef‌fect of the CAIR vacatur

across federal and state air programs? What

responses are likely to help counteract these

ef‌fects? What actions can we expect in the

near and longer term to cope after this turn

of events?