EPA Restores Title V Emergency Affirmative Defense Provisions
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
This rule brings back emergency-related affirmative defense provisions in federal Title V air permit regulations. It reverses the EPA’s 2023 removal of those provisions after a federal appeals court overturned that earlier rule. Facilities with Title V operating permits may again be able to rely on the pre-2023 emergency defense framework when certain permit violations happen because of qualifying emergency conditions. State permitting agencies, regulated facilities, and compliance teams should review how this affects permit enforcement and internal incident-response procedures before the rule takes effect on June 1, 2026.
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Key Changes
- Rescinds the EPA’s 2023 rule that removed emergency affirmative defense provisions from Title V permit regulations
- Restores the emergency-related provisions in 40 CFR Parts 70 and 71 to their pre-2023 form
- Implements a federal appeals court decision reversing the 2023 EPA rule