Nine AGs Filed Two Amicus Briefs Defending EPA’s Efforts to Regulate Cross-State Ozone Pollution

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

On November 16, 2023, Attorney General Letitia James led nine attorneys general–as well as Harris County, Texas–in filing an amicus brief defending the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to disapprove proposed changes to Arkansas, Missouri and other states’ implementation plans for ozone-forming emission reductions. The EPA disapproved of the plans because they did not satisfy the Clean Air Act’s Good Neighbor Provision, which requires upwind states to reduce emissions that will negatively affect air quality in downwind states. After EPA decided that the three states’ plans did not adequately address the Provision, Arkansas, Missouri and a number of industry petitioners challenged the EPA’s final rule. The New York-led coalition defended EPA, arguing that the coalition has “strong interests in protecting their residents from the deleterious health effects of ozone pollution.”

On May 6, 2024, AG James led the same nine state attorneys general–and Harris County, Texas, and the City of New York–in filing an amicus brief defending the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to disapprove proposed changes to West Virginia’s state implementation plans for ozone. The EPA disapproved of the plan because it did not satisfy the Provision. The New York-led coalition opposed this stay, citing health concerns for their residents.