Ozone Standard Awash in Court Challenges

Yesterday, Reg•Watch blogged [1] about five environmental groups that are suing the Environmental Protection Agency over its new national air quality standards for ozone, or smog.

Turns out, pretty much everyone is happy with the new EPA rules. In addition to the environmental groups, 14 states announced they will sue EPA hoping for a standard even more protective of public health than the one EPA adopted.

One state, Mississippi, is also suing but is doing so in order to weaken the standard. A coalition of industry groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers [2], is also suing. According to BNA news service [3] (subscription), "The Mississippi and industry lawsuits will likely challenge EPA's scientific underpinnings for setting the ozone standards, including how background ozone levels were modeled and how scientific studies were interpreted, one industry attorney familiar with the cases, but who asked not to be named, told BNA May 28 ."

Those suing in favor of a more protective standard will likely argue that the body of scientific evidence supports a stricter rule and will cite the Clean Air Act's clear directive that EPA protect the public within an "adequate margin of safety."

According to an EPA analysis [4], the new standard will prevent at least 260 premature deaths, 890 heart attacks, and 200,000 missed school days every year starting in 2020. Had EPA adopted a standard at the weakest end of the range recommended by its scientific advisors, an additional 300 premature deaths, 610 heart attacks, and 440,000 missed school days could be prevented every year.

The 14 states are New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The city of New York and Washington D.C. also joined the suit.