Steel Industry Compliance Extension Act of 1981

The Steel Industry Compliance Extension Act of 1981 (Act) permits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to accede to a steel company’s request for an extension of otherwise applicable deadlines for compliance with the Clean Air Act only if the Administrator finds that the company has met its ongoing obligations under its existing consent decrees, or that any violations are de minimis in nature.

While the term “de minimis” is not defined in the Act, the legislative history confirms that it was meant to have its ordinary meaning—that is, “negligible” or “insubstantial or inconsequential.”