On March 6, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register its long-awaited reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM). In...more
Exercising one of its most important and far-reaching powers under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has lowered the primary annual National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate...more
In March 2023, the EPA issued its final Good Neighbor Plan, the last in a series of legislations designed to reduce emissions of ozone-forming nitrogen oxide (NO2) which cross state borders. Specifically, the Plan was...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced it is initiating a new review of the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (“NAAQS”). EPA states it is taking this action based on advice provided...more
On January 6, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA) released a pre-publication copy of a Proposed Rule, which will lower the annual National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter...more
The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (“CASAC”) sent a February 4th letter to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) addressing the following subject: CASAC Review of the EPA’s Policy Assessment for...more
Environmental groups have sued the EPA to overturn its December 31st rule retaining Obama Era National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The suit alleges that the Trump EPA ignored science and mounting...more
On Friday Jan. 29, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Sierra Club v. EPA, Case No. 15-1465, struck down several provisions in EPA’s 2018 rule implementing the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality...more
On April 14, 2020, U.S. EPA proposed to retain the current national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM) without revision. ...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a December 2nd memorandum titled: Revised Policy on Exclusions from “Ambient Air” (“Memorandum”) - The December 2nd Memorandum was transmitted from EPA...more
According to Bloomberg Environment (subscription required), EPA’s Clean Air Science Advisory Committee cannot reach agreement whether to recommend that the NAAQS for PM2.5 be lowered. Even after two years, I guess I had not...more
EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards has released a draft of its reassessment of the adequacy of the current national ambient air quality standard for particulate matter. Here’s the primary takeaway concerning...more
The D.C. Circuit today largely upheld EPA’s 2015 revisions to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone. I’m not much of a prognosticator, but I pretty much called this one years ago. The Court was never going to...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a draft November 2018 policy document titled: Revised Policy on Exclusions from “Ambient Air” (“Draft Policy”) - EPA states by way of introduction that...more
On May 9, 2018, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a memorandum outlining a “back-to-basics” process for reviewing National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria...more
Just before the holiday break, U.S. EPA announced the potential return to “nonattainment ozone status” for a number of locations in the United States, including portions of eastern and southeastern Wisconsin. After achieving...more
On October 1, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a prepublication version of a final rule establishing a new National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. The final rule lowers the primary and secondary...more
On October 1, 2015, EPA announced that the new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone would be 70 ppb, a 6.7% reduction of the current 75 ppb standard. On November 25, 2014, EPA had proposed to...more