Last week, in a 5-4 opinion, in Ohio v. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Supreme Court granted applications for a stay of the implementation of the “Good Neighbor” Plan, the EPA’s federal emissions reduction rule,...more
Co-Author Jordan Wimpy The United States Supreme Court issued on June 27th a stay on the Ozone Federal Implementation Plan (i.e, Good Neighbor Rule) while the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals hears and decides...more
In March 2023, the EPA issued its final Good Neighbor Plan, the last in a series of legislations designed to reduce emissions of ozone-forming nitrogen oxide (NO2) which cross state borders. Specifically, the Plan was...more
PM NAAQS: Already behind schedule is perhaps the mostly widely impactful rule change EPA has proposed in many years: a lowering of the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). EPA has...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced it is initiating a new review of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (“NAAQS”). EPA states it is taking this action based on advice provided...more
The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council recently weighed in on EPA’s decision whether to lower the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5 and ozone. Specifically, with respect to PM2.5, WHEJAC...more
Last week, the EPA Clean Air Science Advisory Committee provided EPA its review of EPA’s Policy Assessment for the Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone. As expected, CASAC has disagreed with...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (“CASAC”) transmitted a June 9th letter to Administrator Michael S. Regan addressing: CASAC Review of the EPA’s Policy...more
The United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit (“Eighth Circuit”) issued an order on May 25th granting the State of Arkansas’s Motion to Stay the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Arkansas State...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its plan under the Clean Air Act’s “good neighbor” provision (the “Plan”) on March 15, 2023. The Plan requires 23 states to reduce their air pollution that...more
EPA’s Big Plans for 2023: Top Air Rulemakings We Are Watching - An environmental lawyer walks into a cocktail party. An often-asked question is: What is happening at EPA in your world? What should we be watching that...more
Last week, Inside EPA (subscription required) reported that the Clean Air Science Advisory Committee has pretty much agreed that the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone must be made more stringent. Apparently,...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a March 15th prepublication final rule imposing a Federal Implementation Plan (“FIP”) regarding interstate transport for the 2015 8-hour National Ambient Air...more
Last week, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected challenges to EPA’s “Revised Cross-State Air Pollution Update Rule”. The Court found that the Rule was “an appropriate exercise of EPA’s statutory authority”....more
As noted in a February 14th post, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a final rule disapproving State Implementation Plan (“SIP”) submissions for 19 states regarding interstate transport for the...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards issued a July 29th memorandum addressing: Guidance for Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter Permit Modeling (“Guidance”)...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) submitted on June 21st comprehensive comments on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed rule: ...more
EPA proposed a transformative rule to address the obligations of 26 states for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (2015 Ozone NAAQS). The rule is a federal implementation plan (FIP) rooted in the Clean Air...more
On Friday, EPA announced that it was reconsidering its 2020 decision to leave the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone unchanged. The reconsideration will be based on the existing record. The notice does not...more
The evidence of the harm resulting from PM2.5 exposures keeps rolling in. Earlier this month, Environmental Research published an article titled “Global mortality from outdoor fine particle pollution generated by fossil fuel...more
Environmental groups have sued the EPA to overturn its December 31st rule retaining Obama Era National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The suit alleges that the Trump EPA ignored science and mounting...more
On Friday Jan. 29, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Sierra Club v. EPA, Case No. 15-1465, struck down several provisions in EPA’s 2018 rule implementing the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a final rule retaining the current National Ambient Air Quality Standard (“NAAQS”). This leaves in place the ozone NAAQS that was promulgated during the...more
On December 23, 2020, EPA formalized its decision to leave the ozone NAAQS unchanged, at 70 ppb. I don’t think that this decision is in the same category of egregiousness as EPA’s recent decision not to reduce the PM2.5...more
A coalition of environmental groups represented by Earthjustice put the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on notice they intend to file a Clean Air Act citizen suit action over the agency’s alleged failure...more