EPA's Nonattainment Designations Ignored Updated Ozone Data, Petitioners Tell Court

摘要

The Environmental Protection Agency ignored updated air pollution data that could have revised the areas listed as violating the ozone air quality standard issued in 2008, states and environmental groups argued in federal appeals court (Miss. Comm'n. on En-vtl. Quality v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 12-1309, oral argument 10/21/14). The updated air pollution data would have shown some areas of the country as being in attainment of the revised ozone standards while other areas, such as Colorado's Uinta Basin, would have been required to develop plans to curb smog pollution, states and environmental groups told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit during oral argument Oct. 21. Downwind states such as Delaware and Connecticut also argued that the EPA's nonattainment designations don't do enough to prevent emissions of ozone precursors from blowing across state lines and exacerbating downwind ozone problems.