D.C. Circuit Rejects Suit Seeking Stricter EPA Carbon Monoxide NAAQS

摘要

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has rejected environmentalists' lawsuit challenging EPA's decision to retain its carbon monoxide (CO) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), deferring to the agency's conclusion that scientific evidence did not justify setting the stricter limits. The unanimous April 11 ruling is the latest in a series of decisions by the court granting EPA broad discretion in its process for setting its various NAAQS, which are based solely on data about a criteria pollutant's risk to human health without consideration of costs of a particular standard. The court in recent rulings has rejected industry suits challenging EPA's decision to tighten the ozone, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) NAAQS.