The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered EPA, in the context of ongoing litigation regarding the issuance of designations under the 2015 ozone standard, to present a timetable for designating the remaining areas of the country that were not addressed in the Agency’s November 16, 2017 final rule. In an order issued December 19, 2017, the court directed EPA to file a status report by January 12, 2018, “identifying with precision and specificity” when it plans to issue a final rule completing the designation process. Bill Wehrum, EPA’s Air Administrator, had already stated publicly that EPA expects to conclude the designation process, including issuance of 120-day letters to states in cases where the Agency disagrees with a state’s designation recommendations, by next spring.
