NSR ENFORCEMENT CHRONOLOGY

November 3, 1999 DOJ Files 51 Lawsuits in 10 States for NSR Violations

November 15, 1999 Industry-supported Appropriations Rider to Kill NSR Enforcement Budget Fails
December 21, 2000 Cinergy Reaches Settlement with DOJ on NSR Cases; Pledges to Reduce 500,000
Tons of Pollution Annually, Spend $1.4 Billion on Environmental Improvements
March 23, 2001 Senators Breaux and Inhofe Write to Vice President Cheney Asking Him to Use
Energy Plan to Suspend NSR Lawsuits
April 2, 2001 Senators Collins and Kerry Write Letters to Vice President Cheney Supporting
NSR Enforcement
May 3, 2001 Major Electric Utility Lobbyists, Including former G.O.P. Chairman Haley
Barbour, Ask Vice President Cheney for Re-Evaluation of NSR
May 15, 2001 EPA Administrator Whitman Tells Congress There’s No Plan to Kill the NSR
Lawsuits
May 17, 2001 Bush Administration Energy Plan Calls for Review of NSR Regulations & Lawsuits
May 21, 2001 Cinergy Backs Out of NSR Settlement with DOJ; Rejoins Utilities Fighting NSR
Cases
May 24, 2001 Senators Kerry and Reid Write EPA Administrator Whitman Expressing Concern
over the Bush Energy Plan NSR Review
June 22, 2001 EPA Releases NSR Review Paper; Finds NSR has Virtually No Effect on Energy
Production
June 28, 2001 Wall Street Journal Reports NSR Lawsuits Put On Hold1
July 20, 2001 Senator Lieberman Writes to Attorney General Ashcroft with Concerns Over
Industry Influence in the Bush Energy Plan NSR Review
July 10-20, 2001 EPA Hearings on NSR & Energy in Cincinnati, Sacramento, Boston & Baton Rouge
July 25, 2001 Senate Members Send Letter to EPA Admin. Whitman Supporting NSR Lawsuits
July 26, 2001 EPA Administrator Whitman Testifies Before Congress that NSR Will Be Scaled
Back as Part of Administration’s “Clear Skies” Multi-Pollutant Initiative
August 2001 EPA Administrator Whitman Promises that NSR Reforms Will Only be Made in
Conjunction with Power Plant Emissions Reductions
August 22, 2001 House Science Committee Sends Letter to Pres. Bush Supporting NSR Lawsuits
November 26, 2001 EPA Indicates that Administration Will Move Forward with NSR Reforms Without
Waiting for Multi-Pollutant Proposal
December 2001 Senator Jeffords formally requests the EPA and DOJ provide documents relating to
EPA’s analysis of the rule changes and conduct analysis of environmental impacts
January 8, 2002 9 Attorneys General from the Northeast announce suit to block new NSR rules;
Senators Leahy and Jeffords announce that they will begin joint hearings of the
Last Updated February 5, 2004
 Environment and Public Works Committee and Judiciary Committee to investigate
the rulemaking process and public health impacts of the rollbacks
January 15, 2002 DOJ Determines Lawsuits Based on a Proper Interpretation of the Law After
Energy Task Force-Ordered Review
June 13, 2002 Bush Administration Unveils Regulatory Changes to Key Portions of the NSR
Program
July 16, 2002 Jeffrey Holmstead, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, testifies
that EPA’s enforcement branch and DOJ did not warn that equipment replacement
rule would jeopardize cases
August 1, 2002 44 Senators Urge EPA Not to Finalize a Rule that “undercuts the health of any of
America’s children or seniors”
August 30, 2002 National Conference of State Legislatures Urges EPA to Adopt Reforms that Do Not
Weaken States’ Abilities to Control Air Pollution
September 3, 2002 Jeffrey Holmstead tells Public Health Subcommittee of the Senate Health,
Education Labor and Pensions Committee that EPA would not provide an analysis
of the impacts of the proposed changes, or an opportunity for public comment,
before finalizing the rules
September 26, 2002 Senator Jeffords postpones a vote to subpoena requested EPA documents because of
EPA and Department of Energy promises to respond to the pending request from
December 2001 by no later than October 24, 2002
September 27, 2002 1,085 medical and public health professionals tell Office of Management Budget and
the Administration that, "No changes to NSR should occur without the public being
provided with a comprehensive analysis demonstrating that the proposed changes to
NSR will improve air quality and human health"
October 25, 2002 EPA and DOE indicate that they would not comply with the December 2001 request
for analysis
October 29, 2002 More than 100 Congressional members sign a letter penned by Congressman
Markey to President Bush urging him not to weaken the NSR program
November 22, 2002 EPA releases the finalized and proposed NSR rules
December 20, 2002 Senators Jeffords and Lieberman again write to Jeffrey Holmstead requesting
answers to the questions posed to him during the July Joint EPW/Judiciary
Committee hearing; Holmstead does not respond
December 31, 2002 EPA publishes final and proposed NSR rules; Attorneys General from nine states
(NY, CT, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, RI, VT) announce they will sue EPA over the final
rule
January 21, 2003 Senators Edwards and Lieberman Offer Amendment to Delay Effect of Dec. 31,
2002 Final Rule by 6 months for study; Amendment Loses by Narrow 46-50 Vote;
Amendment to Fund NAS Study on Environmental and Health Effects of Dec. 31,
2002, Rule Passes

Last Updated February 5, 2004

February 28, 2003 EPA Extends Comment Period for Routine Maintenance, Repair, and Replacement
Proposal by 60 Days
March 3, 2003 Rule finalized on Dec. 31, 2002 Takes Effect for Delegated States
March 6, 2003 D.C. Circuit Denies Motion to Stay Dec. 31, 2002 Rule
March 31, 2003 Public Hearings on Proposed Routine Maintenance Rule Held in 5 Cities
April 2003 National Academy of Public Administration Concludes that NSR an “Essential
Tool” in Controlling Air Pollution but Insufficiently Enforced; Recommends that
All Grandfathered Plants Upgrade Within 10 Years
May 2, 2003 Comment Period for Routine Maintenance Proposal Closes
June 24, 2003 11th Circuit Decides EPA Administrative Compliance Order Issued in TVA v. EPA
for NSR Violation Violates Due Process Clause
July 30, 2003 EPA Opens Up Dec. 31, 2002, Rule for Reconsideration, Including Reconsideration
of Supplemental Environmental Analysis
August 2003 General Accounting Office Reports that EPA’s Use of Anecdotal Information to
Test Effects of Dec. 31, 2002 Rule “Not Necessarily Representative” of NSR’s Effect
on Energy Efficiency Projects
August 8, 2003 Ohio Edison’s So-Called Routine Maintenance Projects Found to Violate NSR by
Federal District Court in Ohio
August 14, 2003 EPA Holds Only Public Hearing on Reconsideration of Dec. 31, 2003, Rule in
Research Triangle Park, N.C.; Draft Study Compiled by the Council of State
Governments/Eastern Regional Conference and the Environmental Integrity
Project Finds that Other Federal Programs Will Not Control Air Pollution to the
Same Extent as NSR
August 20, 2003 Acting EPA Administrator Marianne L. Horinko Refuses Environmental Groups’
Request for Meeting on Imminent Release of Final Equipment Replacement Rule
August 27, 2003 EPA Releases Equipment Replacement Rule, revealing 20% Cost Threshold for
Exempted Equipment Replacement Projects
September 2003 NAS Study Expanded to Include Equipment Replacement Rule; Deadline Moved
Back Six Months
October 27, 2003 EPA Publishes Equipment Replacement Rule
October 27, 2003 12 States and DC, Municipalities, and Environmental Groups Petition D.C. Circuit
to Review the Rule; Move for Stay
October 21, 2003 General Accounting Office Concludes that NSR Revisions Could Affect Utility
Enforcement Cases; Finds Reporting Requirements for Dec. 31, 2002, Rule
Insufficient to Track Violations
October 30, 2003 EPA Releases Comments to Reconsideration of Dec. 31, 2002, Rule; Makes
Only Minor Changes; Says Supplemental Environmental Analysis Not Flawed

Last Updated February 5, 2004

November 5, 2003
December 24, 2003 D.C. Circuit Stays Equipment Replacement Rule
January 9, 2004
January 22, 2004
January 23, 2004
January 28, 2004
EPA announces it will abandon power plant cases; will apply challenged Equipment
Replacement Rule in Undertaking Future Enforcement Actions
EPA announces it will apply existing rule to powerplant enforcement cases and will
pursue new cases
EPA issues NOV to Westar Energy; violations appear to trigger only STAYED
equipment replacement rule
EPA Issues “§ 114” Information Requests to 2 Coal-Fired Utilities
DOJ files complaint against East Kentucky Power Cooperative; projects appear to
trigger only STAYED equipment replacement rule

1
Wall Street Journal, "White House Halts Pollution Probe, Begins a 90-Day Process Review," June 28, 2001.

† 1999-2002 data taken largely from SavetheCleanAirAct.Org’s NSR Timeline available at http://www.savethecleanairact.org/public/timeline/.

Last Updated February 5, 2004