EPA Tells District Court It Can Finalize Revised Ozone Standards by November 2015

摘要

The Environmental Protection Agency told a federal court Feb. 25 it can finalize revisions to ozone air standards by Nov. 15, 2015 (Sierra Club v. EPA, N.D. Cal., No. 13-2809, motion filed 2/25/14). The EPA missed its March 2013 deadline under the Clean Air Act to review the ozone standards, and the agency told the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California it needs until 2015 to finalize the standards because it is reviewing an abundance of complex scientific evidence. If the EPA decides to strengthen the ozone standards, the regulation could lead to new requirements for emissions controls on sources that emit nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, which contribute to ozone formation, including industrial facilities, power plants and vehicles.