Sierra Club v. EPA

In an opinion issued in consolidated challenges to the Portland cement plant standards, the D.C. Circuit said that it did not have statutory jurisdiction to consider Sierra Club's claim because EPA's decision not to include greenhouse gas restrictions in the standard was not a final agency action. The court said that EPA's statements that it currently did not have adequate information to set standard and that it was working towards a proposal that it would promulgate after it had gathered the necessary data were "explicitly tentative and conditional statements—which expressed certainty only as to EPA’s decision to continue the process of studying greenhouse gases."

The Sierra Club filed a lawsuit challenging new source performance standards for Portland cement plants announced by EPA. In September 2010, EPA published a final rule regarding standards for the plant which did not include limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Sierra Club contended that the standards should have included restrictions on such emissions.

Filing Year For Action