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"The Environmental Appeal Board is often a kind of costly and time-consuming stop to the court of appeal," said Russell Frye, a lawyer with several companies that have received and appealed to them. in particular, and paper and pulp mills. "It would eliminate this step for my clients."
Another industry lawyer, Jeffrey Holmstead, representing companies operating coal-fired power plants, wrote in an e-mail that he was also surprised by the fact that companies would be allowed to appeal, but not their opponents. "It seems a little strange to have an asymmetrical calling process," he wrote.
The board was created in 1992 by William K. Reilly, a board member of E.P.A. director under the first president Bush.
Those who appealed to the board said that it provided an effective forum for those who could not afford to defend themselves. Among them is Emerson J. Addison III, an unemployed English teacher from County Clare, Michigan, who last year appealed to the board of directors after the E.P.A. issued a permit to the Muskegon Development Company to inject water into a former oil well in Mr. Addison's community in order to replenish it.
Mr. Addison was concerned that in the process, contaminated water would seep from the well into the local water supply. "It's a poor neighborhood," he said. "Most people do not have the money to defend themselves in court."
In April, the Environmental Appeal Board returned the license to E.P.A. for reconsideration, ruling that it was unclear whether the agency had taken sufficient account of public comments or the effects of the decision. plan on poor and minority members of the neighboring community.
It is not clear yet if the agency will revoke the license or simply revise it, but "if they do it eventually, it may be safer," said Mr. Addison.
The proposed change to the Environmental Review Panel process could be made public as early as next week, according to the three people familiar with the subject. It would then be open to public comment, a period of 60 to 90 days, before being finalized and implemented.
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