"A federal court today vacated part of an Obama-era U.S. EPA rule for halting 'sham-recycling' of hazardous materials."

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a provision meant to distinguish fake from legitimate recycling.

The court also vacated the rule's permitting requirements for secondary hazardous materials sent to another company for recycling, restoring a policy that had been in place during the George W. Bush administration.

"EPA has not offered a sufficient 'rational basis.' ... EPA must offer more than timorous assertions such as 'could indicate' and 'may or may not be legitimate,'" the court found in a dense, 42-page per curiam opinion."

Amanda Reilly reports for Greenwire July 7, 2017. [2]