Six AGs Filed Lawsuit against EPA Over Failure to Adequately Address Upwind Air Pollution

JANUARY 30, 2019

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of six attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its decision to set no further emissions restrictions on ground level ozone pollution (smog) from upwind states until at least 2023. In their lawsuit, the attorneys general asked the court to vacate the EPA’s December 2018 decision to “close-out” the agency’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), which was established by the Obama administration in October 2016. The attorneys general argued that the close-out rule violates the Clean Air Act’s “Good Neighbor” provision, which requires the agency to act when the actions of upwind states prevent downwind states from achieving federal air quality standards.