Arkema Inc. v. EPA (D.C. Circuit)

In this case, we secured vacatur of a final rule promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”). The rule provided allowances for the production of ozone-depleting substances under a cap-and-trade system. In a prior rule, EPA had authorized companies to make permanent inter-pollutant trades of the substances, and it later approved a number of such trades by our client, Arkema. In the subsequent rule at issue in this case, however, EPA took the position that permanent inter-pollutant trades were never permissible, and it refused to give effect to Arkema’s prior trades. The court agreed with our position that the rule was impermissibly retroactive.