Presidential Exemption for Certain Stationary Sources of Air Pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has opened an electronic mailbox to allow regulated sources to request a Presidential Exemption under section 112(i)(4) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) from nine National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) that EPA is reconsidering (see table below) across the energy, manufacturing, and chemical sectors.

Under CAA § 112(i)(4), “the President may exempt any stationary source from compliance with any standard or limitation under this section for a period of not more than 2 years.” To receive this exemption, the President must determine that (1) “the technology to implement such standard is not available” and (2) “it is in the national security interest of the U.S. to do so.”  See 42 U.S.C. § 7412(i)(4). The exemption may be extended for one or more additional periods, but it must not exceed two years.

The opportunity for companies to submit these exemption requests follows on the heels of EPA’s announcement to reconsider these NESHAPs. The reconsiderations are part of EPA’s broader deregulatory initiative – and EPA has indicated that it intends to evaluate other NESHAPs to determine whether further regulations should be reconsidered. Interested parties should track these issues to determine if additional opportunities for exemptions are forthcoming.

The timeline for this application is short. Stakeholders requesting an exemption must do so by Monday, March 31, 2025.

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