EPA Updates Clean Air Act Standards Applicable to Small Waste Incinerators
On June 30, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized updates to its New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emission Guidelines for Other Solid Waste Incineration (OSWI) units under the Clean Air Act (CAA). These units — combustion systems that incinerate solid waste from commercial or institutional sources not otherwise regulated under specific incinerator categories — include very small municipal waste combustors and institutional incinerators. The final rule includes applicability-related and definitional changes expanding the class of incinerators subject to NSPS, revises the OSWI subcategories and tightens emission limits for key pollutants. It also adopts changes to startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM), and expands testing, monitoring, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements that will affect both existing and new OSWI units.
Environmental Groups Bring CEQA Challenges of CARB’s Amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard
Earlier this week, two environmental groups sued the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) for approving amendments (the “Amendments”) to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (“LCFS”). CARB had voted to amend the LCFS on November 8, 2024, with the intent of lowering the carbon intensity of the fuel mix in California and encouraging the use of low-carbon transportation fuels. For more details on the LCFS Amendment changes, see Sidley’s Alert.
