Housatonic River Initiative v. EPA

The First Circuit Court of Appeals denied a petition by environmental groups challenging a permit issued by EPA to govern cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from portions of the Housatonic River. The First Circuit found that EPA properly considered greenhouse gas emissions in determining that a “hybrid” disposal approach would outperform fully offsite disposal in various metrics. The court rejected petitioners’ contention that under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) provision authorizing selection of remedial actions that do not meet certain applicable state and federal standards, only local impacts could be considered in determining whether compliance with the otherwise applicable standard would result in “greater risk to human health and the environment than alternative options.” In this case, the petitioners argued that it was not appropriate for EPA to consider environmental risks to communities away from the river, including risks related to greenhouse gases emitted in the course of offsite transportation. The First Circuit concluded that CERCLA’s statutory text “unambiguously” allowed EPA to consider health and environmental impacts resulting from noncompliance or compliance with the applicable federal and state standards, regardless of where the impacts occurred. The court’s opinion also noted that EPA’s rationale for choosing a remedy that did not include thermal desorption included the potential long-term impacts—including higher greenhouse gas emissions—of that remedial option.