§7625–1 Exemptions for Certain Territories

Summary

Governors of Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, or the Northern Mariana Islands can ask the EPA Administrator to excuse a person, source, or group from most rules in this law. The Administrator may grant an exemption only if following the rule is not feasible or is unreasonable because of unique local geography, weather, economy, or other important local factors. Exemptions cannot cover the hazardous‑pollutant rule or any rule under section 7410 or part D that is needed to meet or keep national air quality limits. Petitions are reviewed under the set administrative process and count as the Administrator’s final action. The Administrator must quickly tell the named congressional committees when a petition is received and when it is approved or denied, and explain why. Any fossil‑fuel steam electric power plant operating in Guam on December 8, 1983 is exempt from the sulfur dioxide new‑source standards and any approved state sulfur dioxide limits that existed on that date. That exemption ends 18 months after December 8, 1983 unless the Administrator finds the plant is making all practical emissions cuts to prevent exceeding the national sulfur dioxide standard.