FOLLOW ALONG HERE: Here is a story (in Tweets) abt an 8 yr fight by EPA over an air pollution rule violation at one of largest US coal-burning power plants. Then Trump-era EPA/DOJ COMPLETELY REVERSED ITSELF on the case, embracing industry's argument. 
The saga involves DTE Monroe, on the western shore of the Lake Erie, 60 miles south of Detroit. A coal-fired behemoth that can generate enough electricity each day to power more than 2.3 million homes. It consumes more than a hundred rail cars a day of coal
On April 26, 2010, a Chicago-based EPA engineer discovered a news article that described renovation project at the DTE Monroe plant. Here's the rub: The plant owner had not told the EPA about the project, so EPA couldn't demand MAJOR upgrade in air pollution equipment EPA wanted
EPA--as is its job--filed Notice of Violation against DTE Energy. Soon enough Bill Wehrum, the coal-power-plant super lawyer, intervenes, as does his firm, then called Hunton Williams. EPA is wrong, they argued. It can't make such demands.
The facts of this case are complicated-but in short, two US Court of Appeals rulings sided with EPA. The gov has--and must have--power to challenge air pollution projections by power plant owner as EPA decides if it needs to order major upgrade in pollution controls.
This outcome frustrated Bill Wehrum and his clients. Here is a memo prepared for petrochemical industry--which had hired Wehrum as its lawyer--saying EPA needed to issue some kind of a policy guidance that it can't strong arm power plant owners/"second guess" their projections.
So what happens next. Wehrum is confirmed as the new head of air pollution policy at EPA. And Scott Pruitt then issues a memo, a month after Wehrum is confirmed, that EPA should not "second guess" air pollution projections by plant owners as they undertake major renovations
This is a RADICAL shift in EPA policy. EPA enforcement teams were furious, convinced this would significantly undermine their ability to use "New Source Review" to mandate air pollution control upgrades at coal power plants, refineries, etc. In short, Wehrum won. (E&E on it.)
This had been a bigger part of story I did on A1 in NYT on Monday. It was so complicated, much of it got trimmed. But this debate has big implications for EPA's enforcement program moving forward. It is important stuff. I wanted to share it. NOW U KNOW. nytimes.com/2018/08/19/us/…
