Environmental Appeals Board

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Appeals Board is the final decision maker on administrative appeals under all major environmental statutes that EPA administers. Located in Washington, DC, the Board is an impartial tribunal independent for substantive purposes of all Agency components outside the Immediate Office of the Administrator. The Board’s caseload consists primarily of appeals from permit decisions and administrative civil penalty decisions, as well as petitions for reimbursement of costs incurred in complying with cleanup orders issued under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The Board’s four Environmental Appeals Judges sit in panels of three and make decisions by majority vote. Eight attorneys and two administrative professionals provide support to the judges. Alternative Dispute Resolution: The Board offers an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program to assist parties in resolving disputes before the Board. The Board’s ADR Program offers parties the option of participating in ADR with the assistance of one of the Board’s Judges acting as a neutral evaluator/mediator. The ADR Program has been successful in assisting the parties in achieving a fast resolution of issues, with satisfying and enduring solutions. Sharing the Board’s expertise on Environmental Adjudication: The Board also serves as a repository of expertise within the federal government on environmental administrative adjudication. Judges and attorneys on the Board have provided training and shared their expertise on environmental adjudication, both domestically and internationally, with a significant number of judges, attorneys, environmental specialists, local, state and federal government officials, and civil society organizations. The Board has conducted training for judges from Asia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. REGULATIONS GOVERNING APPEALS: Notice *** effective May 22, 2017, EPA revised the rules governing appeals from enforcement (40 C.F.R. pt. 22) and permit decisions (40 C.F.R. §§ 124.19, .20). The revisions to the rules: (1) expand the availability of electronic filing and service; (2) set the deadline for filing a response under part 124 based on the date of service of a petition for review, rather than the date of filing; and (3) for part 22 proceedings, specify that the additional period of time added to filing deadlines for responsive documents is three days when responding to a document served by U.S. mail or other similar method - conforming the time period with part 124 and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. More information on these revisions is available on the Board’s Regulations Governing Appeals webpage. GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS: The Board has issued a Practice Manual for legal practitioners and A Citizens' Guide to EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, a plain language guide for members of the public participating in matters before the Board. The Board also has other guidance documents found on the EAB Guidance Documents page. ATTENTION ELECTRONIC FILERS: Click here for information and registration instructions for the Board's e-Filing system. The Board's Standing Orders governing electronic filing are available on the Standing Orders section of the Board's website. INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Click here for information on law student internship/externship opportunities with the Board. Recent Board Actions Order Date Citation Appeal No. Case Name 05/24/2017 Unpublished Final Order CAA 17-02C Atlantic Trading & Marketing, Inc. 05/17/2017 Oral Argument (07/27/2017) UIC 17-03 Florence Copper, Inc. 05/17/2017 Oral Argument (07/27/2017) UIC 17-01 Florence Copper, Inc. 05/17/2017 Oral Argument (07/27/2017) UIC 17-02 Florence Copper Inc. 04/07/2017 Unpublished Final Order RCRA 17-01C Whole Foods Market Group, Inc., et al 04/07/2017 Unpublished Final Order NPDES 16-01 Bridgewater Waste Water Treatment Facility 03/31/2017 Unpublished Final Order CAA 17-01C Bell Trucks America, Inc. and Bell Equipment limited 03/22/2017 Unpublished Final Order UIC 17-04 Florence Copper, Inc. 03/22/2017 Unpublished Final Order TSCA 17-02Q Tri-iso TryLine LLC 03/21/2017 Unpublished Final Order NSR 16-02 Ponderosa Compressor Station