EPA Chokes on Ozone

New Jersey Joins Multi-State Challenge to EPA Ozone Standards; Federal Lawsuit Alleges Violation of the Clean Air Act

May 28, 2008 -- TRENTON - New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced today that New Jersey has joined with 13 other states in challenging revised, ground-level ozone standards set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as weak and inadequate to protect the public health and welfare.

Industrial wasteland, New Jersey: Photo by Ari Moore (CC)

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the states contend that EPA violated the federal Clean Air Act and disregarded advice from its own scientific advisory committee in setting its revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone.

In addition to New Jersey and the 13 other states, the District of Columbia and City of New York have signed onto the lawsuit challenging EPA standards for the amount of ground-level ozone allowed in the atmosphere.

A main ingredient of “smog,” ground-level ozone is an air pollutant that is harmful to breathe and damages trees, crops, animals, wildlife and visibility. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required to establish primary and secondary standards for air pollutants such as ozone, and to review and update those standards every five years.

The “primary” standard defines the upper limit of ozone concentrations that can be in the atmosphere before causing public health problems such as asthma attacks and chronic lung disease. The “secondary” standard defines the upper limit of ozone concentrations that can be in the atmosphere before damaging public welfare by diminishing crop productivity and harming plants, animals, wildlife and climate.

Ozone-related adverse health effects include changes in lung function, increased respiratory symptoms and aggravation of existing lung and heart disease. Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the effects of ozone, as are active individuals such as joggers. Ozone also has harmful effects on vegetation including increased susceptibility to disease, which can kill trees and diminish crops.

”The scientific evidence is clear and well-established: reducing ozone levels will not only help protect our environment and preserve our natural resources, it will help save lives. It is time for the federal government to comply with the Clean Air Act and work with the states to implement ground-level ozone standards that actually protect public health and welfare,” said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson, who also chairs the Ozone Transport Commission, an organization of 12 northeastern and mid-Atlantic states, plus the District of Columbia.

Aside from New Jersey and lead state New York, the participating states or state agencies include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Rhode Island.

The coalition will ask the Court to order EPA to adopt new standards that comply with the Clean Air Act by protecting public health and welfare.

Deputy Attorneys General Kevin Auerbacher and Jung Kim of the Division of Law's Environmental Enforcement Section are handling the ozone matter on behalf of the State.

Source: New Jersey Attorney General

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