The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] on Monday ruled [opinion, PDF] 2-1 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] cannot suspend a rule requiring oil and gas companies to fix and reduce methane leaks in their equipment. In June the EPA proposed staying the rule [text, PDF] but acknowledged “that the environmental health or safety risk addressed by [the] action may have a disproportionate effect on children.” The EPA intended to postpone implementation of the rule for two years. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said that the agency needed to reconsider the rule and give industry groups sufficient time to comment. The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) [advocacy website] as well as other environmental justice groups filed a lawsuit [motion, PDF] asserting that Pruitt lacked the authority to invoke reconsideration and delay implementation. The court stated that the EPA had ample opportunity hear comments on all relevant issues and that the decision to impose the stay was “arbitrary and capricious.” The Director of the NRDC’s Climate and Clean Air Program, David Doniger, said [press release], “The ruling recognizes that EPA lacks the authority to simply scrap these critical protections. And it shows the courts are going to enforce the rule of law on health and environment. The Trump Administration’s war on the environment and our health has hit a brick wall.” The court concluded that the ruling does not preclude the EPA from reconsidering the rule providing the new policy is permissible under all relevant statutes.

Many environmental other groups have expressed serious concerns over Pruitt’s appointment as the new head of the EPA. In April Earthjustice [advocacy website] filed a motion [JURIST report] that asked the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] to order the EPA to ban a widely used pesticide after Pruitt denied a petition to prohibit its use. In February, Pruitt vowed [JURIST report] to cut back EPA regulations, saying the agency’s Clean Power Plan, Waters of the US rule, and the US Methane rule will all be targets under the Trump administration. Pruitt’s nomination for head of the EPA was met with consternation from Democrats, who cited Pruitt’s numerous lawsuits against the EPA while he was the Oklahoma Attorney General. Days before his confirmation by the Senate, Pruitt was ordered [JURIST report] by a federal judge to release thousands of emails between the Oklahoma AG office and various fossil fuel companies.