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EPA’s electronic mailbox is open for requests from stationary sources until March 31.

By Karl A. Karg, Stacey L. VanBelleghem, and Bruce M. Johnson

In March 2025, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has set up an electronic mailbox to allow stationary sources to request a Presidential Exemption from certain standards under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

Section 112 requires EPA to establish emission standards for certain stationary sources of hazardous air pollutants. Section 112 also includes a provision that enables the President to exempt stationary sources from compliance with any standard or limitation under Section 112 for up to two years if “the President determines that the technology to implement such standard is not available and that it is in the national security interests of the United States to do so.” 42 U.S.C. § 7412(i)(4). Section 112(i)(4) also provides that such an exemption may be extended “for 1 or more additional periods, each period not to exceed 2 years.”

EPA has requested that facilities and affected sources subject to the following hazardous air pollutant emission standards under Section 112  — all of which are currently under reconsideration by EPA — submit information by March 31, 2025, justifying why their facility and/or affected source meets the exemption requirements:

This is the first time that EPA has affirmatively asked stationary sources to submit requests under Section 112(i)(4). EPA has provided an outline of the information that is required in an exemption request. Most notably, EPA requires an entity seeking the Presidential Exemption to justify “why the technology to implement the standard is not available” and why an extension “is in the national security interests of the United States.” Both of these showings are required by the statutory text.

Stakeholders will be following these issues closely. Indeed, on March 27, 2025, the Environmental Defense Fund filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking, among other things, any requests for exemptions and information or materials submitted to  EPA in support of a request, as well as any correspondence to and from the EPA electronic mailbox associated with these exemptions.

Latham & Watkins will continue to monitor these and other EPA developments. For more updates on the environment, visit our Environment, Land & Resources Blog.