D.C. Circuit Upholds U.S. EPA’s 2021 Interstate Ozone Transport Rule
On March 3, 2023, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an industry challenge to the April 2021 Revised Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) Update Rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency), which required power plants in 12 “upwind” states to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx), an ozone precursor, emissions such that those states did not inhibit downwind states’ ability to comply with the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).
EPA Grants States’ Petition for Reconsideration of Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted petitions to reconsider air quality standards for ground-level ozone pollution set under the Trump administration in December 2020. Petitions were filed by a number of states, including New York, California, and the District of Columbia as well as various environmental groups. Currently, both primary and secondary ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards remain at their 2015 levels of 70 parts per billion (ppb) over an eight-hour period. (more…)
