The new rules limit the amount of formaldehyde emitted from wood products produced domestically or imported from overseas

Pursuant to stipulation and for good cause shown, the Court hereby orders:

1. The STAY of the Order dated February 16, 2018, Dkt 72, shall be lifted as of June 1, 2018

Judge mandates compliance with formaldehyde limits for newly manufactured or imported wood products

Now before the Court are the motion for summary judgment filed by Plaintiffs Sierra Club and A Community Voice-Louisiana (“Plaintiffs”) and the cross-motion for summary judgment filed by Defendant Scott Pruit, in his official capacity as the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”). This action addresses whether the EPA’s most recent year-long delay in implementation of formaldehyde emission standards exceeds its statutory authority under the Formaldehyde Standards in Composite Wood Products Act. See 15 U.S.C. §2697 (the “Formaldehyde Act” or the “Act”).

Agency must expeditiously implement emissions standards

The EPA keeps delaying enforcement of its formaldehyde rule, so we're taking the agency to court.

Formaldehyde is used to bind plywood, particleboard and other wood products used in a wide array of consumer products, such as paneling, flooring, cabinets, furniture and recreational vehicles (RVs). It is a carcinogen that also causes or exacerbates respiratory ailments, and was blamed for numerous illnesses among Gulf Coast residents housed in travel trailers and…

This action concerns two rules recently promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) implementing the Formaldehyde Standards in Composite Wood Products Act. 15 U.S.C. § 2697 (the “Formaldehyde Act,” codified as Title VI of the Toxics Substances Control Act (“TSCA”)). The first rule established emission standards for formaldehyde in composite wood products and associated testing and compliance mechanisms. 81 Fed. Reg. 89674 (Dec. 12, 2016) (the “Formaldehyde Rule”). EPA signed this rule in July 2016 and published it in the Federal Register on December 12, 2016. The second rule extended the Formaldehyde Rule’s compliance dates so that the first compliance deadline is December 12, 2018, one year later than the December 12, 2017 deadline in the Formaldehyde Rule and more than three years after the Formaldehyde Act directed EPA to require compliance. 82 Fed. Reg. 44533 (Sept. 25, 2017) (the “Formaldehyde Delay Rule”).

Groups claim EPA’s extension oversteps the agency’s authority and is illegal